


Kitty Darling

by mumbled_talks



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 02:52:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 63,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2565632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mumbled_talks/pseuds/mumbled_talks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his well-planned meeting ended not so smoothly, Asami Ryuuichi had honestly expected the worst. But saving a stray kitty on a rainy day and being saved by a younger blond stranger on a very same day? He simply didn't see that coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> unedited. cliche! excuse me for grammar errors or typos!

It was a plain Sunday evening when the rain poured really hard from above, washing off the dust on earth. People busied themselves searching for a perfect place for sheltering. Various color of umbrellas emerged on the street, coloring the rainy day with it’s colorful colors. From above, a man in black could be seen walking through the people with umbrellas, unconsciously brushing their shoulders as he passed them. He walked a little bit wobbly, and people started accusing so many bad accusations about said man. Is he drunk? Drugged? Sick?

Those bad whispers didn’t even cross the man’s earlobes as he kept striding pass the crowd, eventually finding themselves in front of a small neighborhood with several houses. Once he found a perfect dark alley along the way, he went there and slid down against the brick wall, panting as he did so. His bright, golden eyes was covered by his wet, slick bangs. He looked up to the sky and see so many water falling above him. Heh, silly.

He was Asami Ryuichi and that year was probably the worst year of his life. Today, he was working as usual and went into a minor meeting with some low-lifes that wanted to oppose him. Turned out the ‘low-lifes’ caught him off guard and did the best of the available opportunity. Asami’s men was simply knocked down by them in one swift movement just because the fixer got his eye off them. The last thing he remembered was that he ran for his own safety and was currently staying low and waited for Kirishima’s report. Shit just happened, he guess. But he was sure, he will get back to the surface once again, to show those thugs who they were messing with.

A mewl sound that echoed in the alley immediately jerked him out of his thoughts as his eyes shot out open and he jerked his head towards the source. A white, fury little thing was shivering at the other end of the alley. He quirked up his eyebrow but then closed his eyes back. _It’s probably some kind of a stray cat or something_ , he thought.

He nearly got a heart attack when a soft fur touched the cold surface of his hand as a purr came along with the gesture. He ran his golden eyes towards the offender and true to his conjecture, the thing earlier was a cat. Or maybe a kitten, kitty. It’s body shivered terribly due to the extreme temperature, the man could see that. What surprised him the most was, the kitten rubbed his head against his hand and drew closer towards him, seeking warmth.

The man’s eyebrows furrowed into a curvy line as he glared, “What? Don’t come closer. I don’t have a thing for small animals, especially cats.”, he spat.

But the kitten ignored him. It just widened it’s rounded blue eyes and continued to move closer. The man just sighed.

“Persistent, are you? Brave little guy.”, despite the things he said to the kitty, he surprisingly wrapped his big palm around the animal’s trembling body, and pulled it closer towards his tux. The kitty purred in happiness as it looked like enjoying itself, nuzzling his head against the man’s hard body.

The rain poured even harder within minutes and he just pulled the kitten closer to his embrace. “If I think about it, you’re just like me. Runs away from home, and being abandoned and ignored on the street.”, he muttered lowly, “Poor you.”

What replied him was the soft mewl from the creature as it drifted off to it’s dreamland, it’s breath became slower as it relaxed.

With his eyes still closed, the man felt his vision grew even darker than before. He opened his eyes and saw what’s currently shadowing his presence. The first thing he could see was a pair of legs in jeans His eyes ran upwards and two set of worried hazel eyes met him. He widened his eyes in shock, but then regained his composure.

The new guy was a blond, dressed in nothing but a plain t-shirt and jeans, with groceries bag in his hand. He held a blue umbrella in his right hand as he sheltered the golden eyed man from the rain. _He looked younger than me.._ It may sound weird but he swore to himself that the new guy looked more like an angel who gives him a second chance or something.

The blond spoke, “Oh my God! What are you doing here?”, he spoke.

The golden eyed man just stared at him for a mere minute before answering, “I’m sitting, what else?”

The blond could be seen rolling his eyes, “I mean why are you sitting in this kind of place and weather? Should you be at home? Drinking warm tea and watching some lame soap operas??”, he sarcastically said.

The other person chuckled, “I don’t have any home for me. So perhaps it would be best for me to stay here.”, he waved a hand towards the blond to indicate him to ‘just ignore me’. But the blond seemed to not want any of that.

“Would you like to come to my house?”

That question, threw the older man off guard as he looked at the younger one comically, “What?”

“To my house? You don’t want to?”, he offered once again, his voice was layered In hope.

Asami didn’t answer, which was making the blond’s patient grew thinner within minutes, “Come on, at least stay until the rain calms down. You look like a big, giant stray cat, you know?”

 _Stray cat?_ He reflexely let the white kitten he picked up earlier out to the blond’s view. Those hazel eyes grew even wider than before as he squealed, “Aww.. Okay, no more complaining! You two will stay in my house and dry up! Come on, move your lazy ass!”

The fixer quirked an eyebrow to mock but the younger one just hissed, “What? I just can’t help it when I see some helpless creatures waiting to be rescued.”

“Waiting to be rescued?”, Asami chuckled, “Who’s waiting to be rescued by y-“, suddenly, his vision grew more and more blurry as he felt his head pounded really hard. He felt his body grew limper as minutes went by, and the last thing he saw before he went into a real darkness was the worried blond’s face which grew closer to his.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited. asami being nice to a kitty(?)

The first thing that met his eyes was the blinding, golden sun ray that peeked through the cream curtain of the room. The birds chirped deligtfully on the tree branches to thank God for yet another beautiful day to overcome. He fluttered his eyes slowly, shifting his vision from the curtain to another dark space of the room; still adjusting to the sudden light. When he jerked his head to one side, a warm, wet clothe fell from his forehead, and that instantly made him wide awake. He sat up hastily with sweat covering his whole body. He eventually realized that his clothes were changed, he was wearing a white loose shirt with black trousers. He panted for air when finally the sight in front of him registered to the back of his mind.

It was a simple bedroom, with only one single bed (that he was currently rested on), and a wardrobe. The bed was too small for his giant body so he assumed that maybe the owner was smaller than him. He still couldn't recall what happened at the alley on that rainy day, he needed someone to tell him. 

Just as he was about to move, the door opened wide revealing a slim blond with a pink apron and a tray of food in his hands. He looked quiet surprised at the awakening of the man that occupied the room, "Oh! You've finally awoken.", he spoke rather cheerfully.

The golden eyed man quirked an eyebrow before asking, "Enough. Just tell me what the hell happened."

"What a harsh word. Especially to talk out to your savior.", the blond quickly spat out.

The older one didn't say a word and the blond just sighed, "Okay, let's start with this. My name is Takaba Akihito, what's yours?"

"It's..", he thought about it a little, "Ryu."

"Okay Ryu, what a long name.", he quipped, "You had a fever yesterday so I didn't have a choice but to take care of you. Your fever quieted down almost immediately last night so I think you're okay right now."

"Great, because I want to go home.", Ryu hissed bitterly as he readied himself to get up. But the sound of his traitorous stomach betrayed him as it screamed and yelled for something to fill it. Golden eyes averted hazel ones defiantly as they could see the laughter in those orbs of the blond.

"Pfft, just say that you're hungry!", Akihito laughed hard, "Come join me for breakfast."

The door shut close and the man sighed. People would usually got shot immediately if they even dare to mock the most powerful, smuggest crimelord like him, but no. He just had to hold himself tight this time. He had to stay low, no need to declare who he was. The time would arrive, when the true Asami Ryuichi would stand on the surface again, doubling and strengthening his armies so that nobody would even consider to defy him twice. He just had to wait for now, that's all.

Asami then stood up and walked, following the blond's footsteps. When he opened the door, his eyes instantly wandered to every spaces possible. Everything seemed to start with 'small'. A kitchenette, a living room, a bathroom (it seemed), and another room which he couldn't figure out what it was for. The blond lives alone, doesn't he? There shouldn't be another bedroom in this kind of apartment.. He thought.

A mewling sound woke him up from his daydream and he immediately ran his eyes towards the source. Turned out the stray kitten he saved yesterday was currently enjoying it's meal (re: milk). 

"Come, the food's getting cold!", Akihito spoke warmly, as he gave the older one his share.

There was no space for a dining table so the both of them enjoyed their meal either on the couch, or simply sat on the floor. Akihito chose the floor though, and Asami took the couch. Crappy morning comedy accompanied them until they reached their last bite. Even though they watched a comedy, nobody laughed, nobody made a sound. The breakfast session was simply passed with an unbearable awkward silence. They could even hear a pin dropped somewhere nearby.

"Uhh.. So..", Akihito initiatively opened up a conversation, "Tell me about you. Why did you end up in that alley? Gang fight or something."

"Or something.", he answered simply.

The older man didn't give any indication to continue so the blond continued his Q&A corner, "What happened?"

"None of your business."

At that, the blond frowned. His frown could even split his face in two. This man was not friendly at all, he knew it. "When do you plan on leaving my apartment?", he asked out of annoyance. Like, come on, you're the guest!

"As soon as possible.", he sipped his drink, "After all I don't intend to stay here any longer."

Akihito politely took the man's plate and collided it with his; bringing it to the sink and eventually washing it. The stray kitten followed the blond everywhere he went, as if they had known for a really long time. The cat mewl when a droplet of water hit it's face and Aki laughed, "Come on Shige, it's just a water!"

Wait, Shige?

"You named it Shige?", Asami asked so out of the blue.

"Yup,", he dried his hands, "It didn't seem to have a name yet so I named it Shige. It's a stray right? So it's not yours."

Just as Asami was about to protest, a vibrate that radiated from a phone not too far from his reach caught an attention from him. Turned out it was the blond's phone. Akihito quickly ran little steps towards it and caught the phone before his guest could.

"Hello?"

There was a moment of silent and Asami could see the instant changing of the boy's expression. Minutes ago he was all smiles and laughs, and seconds later the frown came back to his features. Who's that?

"Come on.. He can't be serio- hey! That's mine!", he yelled on the phone, whining. He looked like he was about to cry.

Asami just continued to stare at him, "Okay, listen. I'm going there alright? Just, don't listen to Mitarai. I will explain everything.", with that said, he hung up the phone.

His turned his face towards the golden eyed man and he sighed, "Sorry. It seems someone has stolen my project. I need to re-claim it right now so, I have to go.", what replied him was only a nod and he quickly rushed towards the bedroom that Asami came out earlier.

Not even 5 minutes later, he came back to the view with his white tanktop and jeans, he also grabbed the black jacket he hung on the armchair of his couch. He grabbed his backpack hastily as he walked towards the ganken to grab his running shoes, eventually wearing it skillfully within seconds. The blond grabbed the doorknob and readied to open it, but he turned around one last time, "If you want to go, just put the key on the mailbox, okay?", he said and after that, the apartment went silent again after his presence was gone.

Feeling it was safe, Asami had to chuckle. Is he an idiot? He simply kept a stranger in his apartment, he didn't even know his real name. The golden eyed man then began his mission. He had to know what kind of establishment he was currently living at. He observed every corner of the apartment like a crime scene, then his curiosity flied through the clouds when his eyes dropped on the mysterious door that led to yet another mysterious room.

This door, it was the only door that was locked. Asami could ever wander what kind of secret of such naïve, innocent boy kept away from him. He tried gripping the doorknob and twisted it, but no, he knew more than better if he forced it, the door would be broken and the kid would accuse him for doing something bad. 

He let go of the doorknob when a pitiful mewling sound came from below him. The stray, white, kitten was clearly rubbing its head against his hard right calf. He knelt and grabbed the kitty by the back of its neck, "You sure like to play, Shi-ge.", he emphasized the name and felt humour filling him.

Shige? What an ugly name.

He chuckled as he could see Shige looking back at him with confusion drawn all over its face. He stroked the cat's hair soothingly as he spoke, "Maybe staying here wouldn't be that bad. After all, I still need a shelter until I hear from Kirishima."

He stood up afterwards and walked towards the couch, eventually throwing himself onto it. 

Asami still had so many things to think about, so many things to measure, and so many things to plan. But now, he just wanted to rest. With the thought of an angel that sheltered him from the rain yesterday, he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school's been hectic AGAIN!!X( i managed to finish this chapter between my busy hours and i feel great bcs of it#:-s
> 
> anyway, I credit my friend for her cat's name, SHIGEEEE!XD a cute, white, fluffy, fat kitty of her meow=W=
> 
> I do not own the Finder Series


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited

A blond was seen walking wobbly through a mass of people on the heart of Shinjuku. The night life honestly disturbed him the most, especially since there may be nowhere he would find peace. But oh whatever, he needed to collide with the crowd, because now, he didn't need any more peace or calmness, he needed to party, drink, and get drunk.

That jerk Mitarai had stolen his scoop so easily - the case between Momohara Ai and her ex-lover a.k.a Mitsugu Onoda - just by saying that he was with him the entire time he got the shots. Akihito snorted at that. _Yeah, he was with me at that time, but the only action he did was going to the toilet and let me handle all the hardwork!_ He shouted internally. But Akihito couldn't really argue to the fact that Mitarai's shots gained more attention than his. He captured Mitsugu Onoda's capture, but Mitarai captured that photo where he hugged Momohara Ai. Of course it would cause so much uproar and chaos with the fans. That goatee bastard sure had the nerve to put him into this mess. Well, maybe his face was blurried, but there was nothing that could stop the fans from finding out who's the mysterious yet lucky guy that hugged that beautiful blonde idol.

Thinking those things made his head spin, maybe it was the effect of the alcohol or the annoyance he felt - especially since that Mitarai's face came into his mind - but he could only care less.

He passed so many people and most of them looked at him disgustingly, like he was some kind of unworthy little animal. But that's just how humans work. The higher their places are, the lower they look at other people. The blond just sighed.

Akihito once checked his phone and the bright monitor showed an exact 12:00 AM. At first, he thought about banging another cheap bar just across his apartment building, but the possibility of him being vulnerable of the crime that could happen at midnight made him think twice. So, focusing his vision and trying so hard to walk straight, he slowly made his way towards his home.

Home. Ah, just the thought of it made his body warm up. He always imagined something like 'a kind mother who waits at home for her son's arrival' or 'a beautiful wife who already prepares your hot bath so that you can constantly take a bath after such a long, tiring day' when someone mentioned the word home. Like, people would hope something like that, right? Being waited by someone who's beloved to you. Your family, or people who are important to you. That feeling must be great.

But Akihito knew himself better than anyone else. His mother had died 2 years ago and he had no interest in cliche things such as romance. Bleh, you like someone, you hook up, you feel something's wrong, then you break up. That's how a love-cycle usually works.

He just wanted to live his life alone, because he thought that living with someone may be troublesome.

Especially with the black-haired guy who only answers what he was questioned that was currently staying at his apartment.

Another pounding was added the moment he remembered about the guest he was having. That Ryu was obviously a no friendly guy, and that was totally a 'no, no' in Akihito's list. He was a big-mouthed guy who was a freak when it came to talking, and right now he lived under the same roof with the antisocial guy. How ridiculous was that?

_'...I don't intend to stay here any longer...'_

_Did he really mean that? He silently asked._

_Oh well, like I care._

_Being with or without him makes no difference after all_.

* * *

 

His heart almost stopped when he couldn't feel any metal thing in his mailbox. That only meant one thing then.

_That guy's still here!_

He quickly reached for his own keys and started struggling to thrust it into the keyhole. When the door opened, he hurriedly strode inside towards the genkan, and the smell of a rich Dunhill immediately infiltrated the air. He reflexively covered his mouth and coughed a little. He was not that good with cigarette's smoke just saying.

Akihito marched towards his little living room and all he could see was a black-haired guy who sat lazily on his couch whilst playing nonchalantly with the channels on the TV. Shige was asleep on his lap. That might be the cutest thing that ever happened in the Takaba's threshold but he simply couldn't tolerate the fact that the man had the nerve to smoke in his private spaces.

Asami was utterly surprised when his cigarette was snatched away from him and was stubbed mercilessly against the wooden table, "Don't you dare smoke in my apartment again!", the blond yelled while still coughing.

The guest quickly quirked an eyebrow and threw him a funny look, "What?"

"I said don't you ever smoke here again! I hate cigarette's smoke, especially Dunhill!"

"Well, sorry then.", he blankly said and turned his attention back to the TV.

Akihito sat beside him, "You sure don't have anything to say to me?"

"About what?"

"About why you're still here.", the blond sternly said, he put his whole attention on the other one beside him.

"Oh, that.", Asami pet the kitten's head, "I have some things that prevent me on going, and I truly hope for you to let me stay for awhile."

"Great. And now I have to spend my money on two persons' serving.", Akihito sighed then stood up; striding towards the locked room afterwards.

"You reek of alcohol. Something goes bad?", Asami asked.

"Yeah."

After that, Asami could see him unlocking the mysterious room and walked into it, closing the door hurriedly afterwards. The room was too dark, he couldn't really see what's inside. But he tried to not care. After all, it was none of his business. The blond didn't care about his background and so he didn't have any rights to interrogate the blond. Their relationship was only something like a landlord and the freeloader, nothing more.

Suddenly, a buzz from somewhere including a familiar ringtone filled the thin air. Asami reflexively followed the sound and it actually led him towards the bedroom, to the night table beside the bed to be precise. He sighed a sigh of relief when he saw his phone ringing delightfully with the name 'Kirishima Kei' covered a half part of the shining monitor.

He constantly picked it up, "Asami speaking. How is it?"

"We have tracked down some goods that were stolen by Yamamoto's men, sir. But unfortunately, there are several goods that are still not found. We are still trying to search for it, so we still need some time to retrieve them and go with the plan."

"How much time do you need?"

"About a week should be enough, sir."

"Good. I will be waiting, make sure to report me all the developments. And oh, Kirishima?"

"Yes, Asami - sama?"

At first, Asami hesitated a bit, but then he continued, "Send me my stuffs by tomorrow afternoon at the address I'm going to give you."

"Yes, Asami - sama.", then the secretary hung up.

Asami stared at his phone for some quiet time then he pocketed it back in his pants.That Yamamoto sure had the guts to defy him. The greed that was clearly shown in the man's eyes told everyone he would do anything for the sake of money. And because of that foolish idea, his life could, no, would be put on risk by the hand of Asami Ryuichi. The fixer swore that.

* * *

 

After locking the door, Akihito switched the lights on and let his body slid easily down to the floor. The sight of the pictures being hung all around the room, waiting to be dried registered to the back of his mind. It was his studio, his working space. Sure he diligently locked the room everyday as to not let any person in. This studio had the darkest secret from the underworld that many people didn't know.

He stood up seconds later and went to his working space. There were several photo's negatives scattered on the wooden surface of the desk. He carefully unlocked the shelf and picked up one, important document out of it.

It was an article. An old article it seemed.

His hazel eyes immediately glowed with eternal fire and mischievous ideas. The headline clearly showed the name 'Asami Ryuichi' on it. The mysterious yet wicked man had done another deal with another stupid politician. The fixer was like a phantom, he had never shown his face in public. No one had ever seen him, and if someone had, he would be scared for life to tell the tale about it. And that single fact made the blond's blood boil.

The thought of uncovering the most hidden secret underworld pumped up his adrenaline rush. The thought of being the one and only photographer for this mysterious man made him smirk.

The last news he heard about the man was about him being attacked by that greedy politician, Yamamoto Saki. But no, Akihito couldn't believe that news easily. Asami Ryuichi had been in this industry for many, many years. The blond was very certain that this Ryuichi would come back to the surface at anytime soon. And when that time came, he would chase the shit out of him, and he would be the one who claims the scoop. No one but him.

"Asami Ryuichi.", he muttered the name under his breath, "I will chase you."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heheheyy update this at last! so how's everyone? hasn't been online lately so yeah, work kept piling up and my exams are so, so bad i need to fix something in my studying cycle so yeah.  
> but i still played my ppsspp in my laptop though and i dont regret it!xb  
> I do not own the Finder Series.  
> Random: the 3rd birthday is seriously a great game i tell ya.. im scared for life...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited. from here on, i'm going to focus on the character's relationship development=3=

Since the defeat of the empire of Asami Ryuichi's business, the underworld seemed to be in so much uproar. The little obstacles from the past began to crawl their way up, fighting with each other to decide who will be the next crimelord that they should be afraid of. That's why, shabby business and deals began to flow again, those infamous fixer did their best so they would catch the media's eye. Takaba Akihito was currently having so much fortune, so much wealth, just by capturing every evil deed those greedy politicians did in the open. He had never imagined himself making a living from someone's wicked plans, but whatever. He needed money to pay his rent, to buy a new camera that he had been drooling over, and to provide a good amount of food portion for two people.

 Yeah, two people.

 It had been two days now since Ryu declared he wants to stay a little bit longer in his apartment. At first, he felt like grunting out the burden the man had given him but as time went by, he became used to him and eventually didn't mind having him in.

 Ryu was a quiet guy, never talked if he was not asked, if talking was not even necessary. He would either sit on the couch and played with Shige, or typed something in his laptop (that Akihito didn't know where did it come from and didn't care about that) that the blond couldn't really understand. But whatever. It was his own matter, his own business. And Aki didn't feel the need to know about it.

 Instead, having his company was more than enough.

 Akihito knew from the start that both of them wouldn't look at each other. They would grow distant, and there wouldn't be any problem if one of them walks away first. The photographer had grown accustomed at the life of living alone, and having someone's company for a mere week wouldn't change his mental.

 Or so he thought.

 It was morning the next day when Akihito woke up on his bed, feeling the grogginess, soreness, and sleepiness still conquered his whole brain. He shook his blond hair to erase all of the tiredness he felt and began to stretch. Stretches felt good in the mornings.

 Just as he lifted up both arms in the air to stretch, he felt the cold air of morning surrounding his torso, making every hair on his nape stood in attention. He constantly folded his hands and covered his upper body with them protectively. Then he realized something that caused that. _Why am I chest-naked?!_

 Following after, he realized that he wore nothing but his tight, navy short boxer and he slept on his own bed. _Didn't I sleep on the couch last night?_ He asked himself, a little bit panic for the sudden change of location and clothing that happened to him in a single night. After a few more stretches, he swung his legs onto the cold floor and made his way towards the bathroom, where there was a wide mirror that could reflect you from your face down to your chest.

 Striding towards the sink, he cupped the cool water in his hands and splashed his face with it, awakening the remaining sleeping soul in him. He did that a few more times before turning the water off.

 He lifted up his gaze by then, staring at himself to found something that seemed amiss in his face. Everything was normal, his eyes were heavy, there were two dark bags under his eyes and his face looked unmotivated. Well, that was normal, because it was still morning and this was his morning face.

 Except one.

 He looked closely at the mirror, not believing one bit about what caught his eyesight. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands rapidly to ease out the grogginess that became more and more annoying as each second passed - of course it became annoying because it seemed to worsen his eyesight - but no. He didn't see it wrong. He saw it right. Right beneath his jaw. That little, pink, rounded bruise. A bruise that looked so alien to his eyes.

  _A.. A hickey?!_

 Akihito began to panic. His chest fell up and down rapidly in fast breathing. He tried to think logically, using his brain to the fullest in this kind of situation. _Hickeys.. Hickeys are usually caused by insects, right? Insect bite? But.. It can also be caused by.._

 He blushed by the realization that hit his mind. _Could Ryu possibly...?_ He thought about that possibility, but just shrugged it off afterwards. _Hickeys or whatever, that doesn't matter to me! Come on, Aki! Having a hickey or two doesn't mean anything, right?_

 Straightening up himself, he calmed his nerves down and tidied himself a bit. Walking out from the bathroom, the first thing he noticed was the sound of TV chattering cheerfully and the sight of a large man sitting lazily on the couch, playing the remote like usual. Akihito honestly didn't mind the fact that the location where he slept was changed, but he couldn't shrug off another fact that he was out of his clothing last night. Thinking fast, he thought about interrogating the guy.

 As he walked towards his guest, his mind traveled back to that little hickey he just discovered. _Should I ask him?_ He asked himself. But no. He shook his head. That is not necessary.

 He slumped his whole weight on the couch with his legs opened wide, showing that milky-skinned calves and tights to the view. Akihito rubbed the back of his head a few times, "Umm.. Ryu - san, can you tell me why am I naked? I vividly remembered that I was still tucked in my jeans last night."

 Asami only spared him a glance before answering, "You reek of alcohol. I can't stand the smell of cheap beers. I changed your clothes-"

 "You took off my clothes."

 The black-haired guy turned his head to him as he glared, "Well, yes. You can say that."

 Akihito just pouted, playing with his own fingers. The man couldn't really read the situation. The aura between them had grown more and more awkward. The blond was so desperate to break the tension, to really have a nice simple conversation consisting of 'hey how are you' or 'how do you do' with this guy but it seemed it was impossible. He silently cried in himself at the fact that he was currently facing.

 Unbeknownst to him, Asami stared at him intensely, observing him as if he could see right through him. His golden orbs caught every gestures the boy made, starting from the way he awkwardly shifted his gaze away from him, until how fidget he grew when he played with his fingers like that.

 He had been observing the blond for two days now, and he seemed to be mistaken to title the boy as stupid. No, he wasn't stupid. He was just naïve; innocent. Kind. Too kind to ever let some hopeless people kept going on the street with nowhere to go. And Asami realized that Akihito had saved him. Saved him from the cruel and harsh world that didn't care about him. The pure kindness that people rarely had in them was shining through that stunning hazel eyes. And that added as a bonus to his beauty.

 Asami felt stupid. Or maybe he was the real idiot here. He hadn't realize the real beauty that laid deep in the blond, until then. The way he hyprocatively acted like he doesn't care made him more and more charming in his own way. His closed attitude towards stranger made him more interesting; making Asami's blood boiled in curiosity to find out about him. His cheeky attitude, smiles, and laughs, he was indescribably beautiful. And Asami only realized it now.

 Akihito literally needed 10 seconds to realize that he was being watched, stared, observed. He quickly whipped his head towards the person who locked his eyes on him as he irritatingly asked, "Is there something on my-"

 A warm, calloused surface of an index finger touched that spot below his jaw where the hickey was located at. Knowing that, the photographer flinched, backing off almost immediately as he covered the hickey with his both hands.

 Asami's hand was still hung gracefully in the air, still frozen on spot because of the sudden defensive act Aki just gave him.

 Both stayed in eternal silence until Asami broke it for them, "Insect bite."

 “Huh?”

 “You got an insect bite. Right under your jaw.”, the golden eyed man pointed out.

 Hearing that, Akihito blushed, feeling the panic rush filling him, “Wait.. it’s visible?!”

 “No it’s not. It’s hidden.”, Asami leaned against his seat, “But if you look closely enough, that bite would surely be visible.”

 “I-It’s that so..? Aha.. Ahahaha..”, the blond let out a sheepish laugh whilst standing up in a slow pace to reach the kitchen. _See, Aki? You wore yourself out for nothing! Even that Ryu guy said that it’s an insect bite, not a hickey!,_ he scolded himself.

 "Have you eaten your breakfast?", Akihito asked while wearing his apron to ready himself something to eat.

 "No. In fact, me and Shige were just woken up the moment you came.", Asami answered.

 Hearing that, the blond turned around and witnessed another cute scene between a man and a kitten. His guest was currently lifting the white kitty just under its armpits and the pair was staring intensely at each other. Akihito giggled quietly when Ryu shook the kitten's body, as if waking up the still sleepy cat.

 "You've grown attached to Shige haven't you?", the blond commented, still stifling his awe.

 Asami was silent for a moment before speaking, "Well, you go out every night. I have no other choice than communicating with this guy here."

 Akihito quirked an eyebrow, "Seems like you really are missing my presence here. Coffee?"

 "Yes."

 The photographer couldn't really know where that ambiguous answer was aiming at. Was it aiming for his statement or his question? He chose to ignore it, and prepared the black coffee for the other guy instead. Waiting for the water to heat up, he wore his oversized sweater to cover up his naked torso, well it was a little bit chilly in the morning and he had to warm himself up before he catches a cold. He was low on cash, he couldn't bother on buying medicine, right?

 "Here.", Akihito offered up the warm mug while holding his own.

 "Thank you.", Asami spoke, while accepting the offered mug. When he was about to hold the cat that was still lazying around on his lap, the cat itself was easily snatched away by the photographer, who grinned victoriously after he successfully did that.

 "I can't let you have Shige to yourself. I want to play with him too!", Akihito brought the cat to his face and played with his muzzle. That cute little nose winced a little at the sudden contact, which made the little furry animal look even cuter than before.

 The blond then laid the cat down onto his lap on its back, tickling the kitty on its stomach. Getting irritated, Shige targetted the hand that had interrupt the peacefulness of his belly and treated it like a toy; eagerly catching it with his paws and brought the fingers into his mouth. It bit the finger furiously until it was full of its saliva, so very wet. Akihito could only giggle at the cute behavior of the cat. "Aww you're so adorable!", he smiled.

  _You're even more adorable._

 Asami winced in surprise the moment that thought invaded his morning mind. He then sipped the coffee to shrug off that thought and it thankfully worked.

 The room was filled with the sound of TV and Akihito's laughter. With that chirpy laughs, the mood seemed to brighten up, and Asami was honestly grateful for that.

 "Are you going to work tonight?"

 Akihito immediately stopped playing with Shige the moment that question was thrown at him. "Huh?", he responded, still shocked because it was the first time - ever - Asami had ever asked or started a conversation with him.

 Asami didn't repeat what he asked because he was pretty sure that Akihito heard him just fine. He was just shocked, well, Asami himself was shocked either by his own action.

 "We-Well yes.. I have to go at the evening, so maybe I will shop some groceries for the month in the meantime. Why?"

 "Just asking.", the black-haired one asked simply, stealing Shige away while the blond was still in a daze.

 Akihito glared, then pouted at the loss. Rolling his eyes towards the ceiling above them, he spoke, "Do you want to go on a grocery shopping with me later?"

 It was Asami's turn to look at him with a surprise look. He quirked an eyebrow, "Why the sudden invitation?"

 "Well, because.. Won't it be boring if you just wait here at home? You will rot if you stay here all day!", Akihito spoke.

 The golden-eyed man thought about it a little, eyebrows furrowed from too much concentration he put, "No, I will just stay at home."

 "If you say so then.", the blond sighed. 

* * *

 

 When the other presence had gone through that white front door, Asami let out another deep sigh through his mouth. The blond was right. Sitting here all day without anything to do was so freaking boring. Besides, he would get fat if he didn't do anything except sitting on the couch and watching TV. But he'd better live this kind of life for awhile then declaring his face to the public. He couldn't wear that black hoodie for too long, people would suspect him to no good.

 A mewl sound caught his attention, along with the clingy act he got from the little animal. Shige was still small, he needed to play, to be carressed, to be loved. And Asami surprisingly understood that. From the way it lovingly curled his little body into a ball and shifted closer to his hold proved him right. Asami didn't know it, but he felt the need to satisfy this cat's needs, especially because he felt that him and Shige had the same kind of life.

 It was abandoned, so did he. By the cruel world. And they ended up in the same place, same alley. What made him sympathize the cat even more was that, they were saved by the same person, a person that goes by the name Takaba Akihito.

  _Takaba Akihito though_ , he smirked. Thinking about that blond alone could surprisingly lit up his mood. He didn't know how or when, but he suddenly just took a liking to the boy. Akihito was different in his eyes, he showed a different sparks. At first, Asami thought that it was only because of his personality that caused him to be interested to him. But no.

 Last night proved him wrong.

 A wave of flashback washed over him as he stared at the file of statistics that was shown on his laptop's monitor.

 After he finished his whatever-it-is job in that unknown room, Akihito simply made his way to the couch and slumped his limp body onto it. Asami was honestly startled by the sudden sound of a weigh falling as he was making another cup of coffee in the kitchen. When he reached the sofa, the blond was already fallen in a deep sleep with a snore.

 Asami carefully put the coffee on the table right in front of the couch and stared at the blond intensely, as if he was some kind of an experiment. He sniffed at him and the smell of cheap beers and sweat shot towards his nostrils. Akihito had really been going through a long, rough day it seemed.

 Thinking fast, the black-haired man lifted the blond bridal style towards his bedroom, minding some manner because Akihito was obviously the owner of the place, he couldn't just let Asami have his bedroom while he neglected himself on the couch, right?

 Asami carefully dropped the smaller body onto the bed. Then, the older man worked on taking off the layer of clothes Akihito wore. Those clothes had stunk by then.

 He took the clothes pieces by pieces, revealing more and more of that creamy skin. Within minutes, Asami had done striping Akihito off his clothes, leaving only the tight boxer that hung perfectly around his nether region. When he pulled back, his golden eyes immediately took the feast by seeing the white flesh that was served in front of it.

 Looking closely, Akihito was so, very small, delicate, it was like he would break constantly if you hit him. And his skin though.. It looked so smooth, soft, like those baby skins. And it also looked so.. Tempting. Asami licked his lips at those sensuous thoughts that flashed through his mind.

 Slowly, Asami stared climbing onto the bed and placed his both hands right beside Akihito's head, trapping the boy perfectly beneath his bigger body.

  _Akihito was beautiful._

 And that was when Asami couldn't hold himself. He couldn't hold in the beast inside him. Akihito was perfect for him, perfect for his hold, perfect for his arms, just perfect for him.

 Slowly, Asami leaned towards the sleeping boy who didn't look like he was going to wake up soon. At first he thought about kissing him, but knowing the risks that he would wake up, he pushed down that intent. He thought about it, then found the greatest idea for the night.

 He moved his lips onto that creamy neck, and stopped for a minute there. _How about finding a place that's hardly visible?_ , he thought. Deciding quickly, he finally planted his lips right below Aki's jaw, placing tiny kisses there. Sensing that the blond indeed wouldn't wake up any soon, he progressed on licking that spot, over and over again, nibbling it, then licking it again. Over and over and over again.

 Until it became a little bit purple he guessed.

 Smirking, he pulled himself up from the sleeping figure and stood tall on the floor. From his angle, he could see his mark so clearly. He didn't know it but there was a sense of pride that filled his entire presence. It was like, he had achieved something big.

 After that, he pulled the blanket all over Akihito then left the room quietly. Still smirking on his way towards the couch.

 And he was also satisfied by the reaction he got this morning. He could see the uneasiness radiating off Akihito's every movements. _And he even believed that was an insect bite?_ Asami chuckled, _what kind of an insect that would be so considerate placing it's bite in a hidden place?_

* * *

["Do you see him, Takaba - san?"]

 "Yes. I am currently searching for a good angle to capture him."

 ["I expect a high quality photo. After all I had provide you all information you need."]

 "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, old man."

 Before his boss could mutter another word of protest, Akihito hung up the call, avoiding another tongue war with his boss that was so famous for his sharp tongue.

 The air was cold and even more chilly at night, as Akihito sat behind a cover in front of some old, worn out looking warehouse. He got a scoop today, and he was so excited to do it of course.

 It was a great scoop, because he was expected to capture some good photos of another wicked deal that was currently commited by the another crimelord that was just got his name big recently, Yamamoto Saki. Of course it was just because he succeed on bringing Asami Ryuichi down. He was like a God in the underworld now. He would get so much bonus if he does this good, and he had sworn that he wouldn't let Mitarai lay his hands on his scoop ever again.

 The deal was supposed to be at this hour, around 11 PM, right at this place. Akihito had been staying there for an hour now, searching himself a perfect hide-out.

 The sound of vehicles being parked a little bit far from his place could be heard by him. Akihito immediately jumped into action as he grabbed and set his camera in one swift motion. Tracking his target like an eagle eye, he saw the whole event through his viewfinder.

 There were several cars, coming from the opposite direction. The first who came out of course was Yamamoto Saki, the head of this entire deal. And the second person was.. Nakajima Shougo. _Ah, that was the head company of Nakajima corp. right? He had finally succeed his family's company in peace, why the hell does he need to involve himself with that shabby businessman?_ Akihito wondered. But whatever, he needed this scoop.

 It was a drug deal he remembered. So it seemed that this Yamamoto was selling Asami Ryuichi's goods that he had stolen. What a jerk. _Well, Asami Ryuichi is also a jerk but stealing somebody's goods and selling it without permission is ruder, right?_

Akihito shook those thoughts away as he re-focused on his current job. He changed the subject of his thoughts to the so many things he could do with the money he would get from this scoop. He could pay his rent, buy Shige a proper meal, buy another jeans, save up for another camera...

 Snap! _Awesome._

 Akihito took another picture, then another, and another. He had a bunch of them now. Smirking wickedly, he slowly packed up his stuffs and readied himself to go. _This is easy, I just have to stand up and ru-_

 "Who's there?!"

  _Oh shit!_

 Akihito didn't care about it anymore. He just blew up his cover by standing up and running away hastily. The adrenaline in his body rushed through his whole presence as he could feel his blood was pumped faster and his breathing came ragged. But he loved this feeling, he loved the feeling of being chased down, and he loved the feeling of being the one who chase.

 He could hear the sound of gunshots not too far from his spot as he kept on running and running with all of his might. He tightened up the grip on his camera bag as his legs didn't stop working, moving him further and further towards the crowded street.

 What made his heart skip a beat was the sudden sting of pain he felt on his right shoulder. He almost got panic by that but then he realized that a bullet had missed his shoulder. It bled, but it was only a graze, so it wasn't something serious. But still, it was painful.

 "Shit..", he cried out.

 Akihito staggered a bit, losing his consciousness when the pain kept rushing from his right shoulder towards his entire body parts. He stood tall with his two legs as his left hand immediately moved to cover the wound that was caused by the bullet. Using all of the energy he had left, he ran his way pass the crowd towards a place that might be safe for him.

 Minutes felt like hours when the pain kept increasing rapidly. Maybe it was because of the sweat that trickled down from his neck, or the cold wind that harshly slapped his wounded shoulder. Whatever, he couldn't think straight.

  _Should I go home?_ He contemplated. _No.. What will I say if Ryu sees me like this?_

Thinking fast, he decided that it's best to reside in Kou's home for the night. His friends had known what kind of job and what kind of danger he will face in that industry but still, they accepted him just the way he was.

 Still running away towards a residence area, the blond was slowly faded to the coldness of the night. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello there guys! im back with a new chapter for this fic! im so excited on continuing this, thanks for u guys who still stay tuned with this story.  
> anyway, i wont likely be able to update a lot from now on bcs in January, i have to prepare myself for the upcoming national examination (yuck), u know that kind of exam that decides which school will i go next.. it sucks but i have to go through with it:"D and like what most parents are, my father is kind of prohibiting me from touching my laptop on weekdays, instead, i could only play it on weekends, which just adds salt to the injury:""  
> i hope u enjoy this chapter as much as i did when i wrote this.  
> I do not own the Finder Series.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: crappy written article. spare moi;_;

Despite the coldness of the night, the blond kept walking straight. He knew that if he bothers to take a shelter from the rain, the pain in his shoulder would rise, and it would do him no good. So, standing still with his determination, Akihito stormed his way through the crowds, occassionally bumping onto several people that walked against him on the street. The pain would sometimes pound, but he held his tears in. _Just another minutes to reach Kou's clinic, no need to worry Aki.._

 He felt like getting on his knees and sings hallelujah the moment he reached a familiar resident area. Akihito suddenly felt grateful that his destination wasn't located too far from his spot right then. Dragging his feet with his remaining strength, the photographer tried to seize the distances as fast as possible. After all he had let his wound open for too long and even though he was no doctor, he knew it needs treatment soon.

 The rain poured lightly minutes later, increasing the blond's misery. A bloody wound and water were just no match. They couldn't fit each other. Because if they meet, the person who suffers the wound would suffer even more. And that was what happened to Akihito. Little droplets of rain innocently fell onto his unprotected shoulder, making him cringed in pain.

 After what felt like years, Akihito finally found himself standing in front of a familiar house, with a familiar banner that said 'Family Clinic - 24 Hours'. Without any hesitation, the blond dragged his feet and punched the bell hastily, not even bothering to wait as he pressed the bell again, growing more and more impatient.

 Despite the harshness of the rain, he could hear some grumpy steps coming even closer towards the front door. Akihito backed off a little bit to avoid any impact from the opening door, of course considering his less than 100% body condition.

 As he had expected, what greeted him was a mad face of his friend; Kou. He wore a white robe and a stetoshcope. It was obvious he was still in his shift, after all there were only two doctors in his family, himself and his dad.

 "What the fu- hey Aki!", he yelled, not even bothering a glance at his friend's condition.

 Looking at Kou's reaction at his arrival, Akihito let out a hearty chuckle, "Is this what you learn from university? Doctor's attitude?"

 Kou glared, "Well.. No, but you were not impatient back there so- hey, your shoulder!", he yelped, "What happened?"

 "It's a long story. But first, I need to treat my wound, Kou -  sensei.", Akihito muttered out.

 Kou immediately stepped aside to let Akihito in, before coming to his side to support him so he could walk to the examination room. Both didn't talk along the way, as Kou was too focused on supporting Akihito's weight so that he wouldn't fall, and unnecesserily adding more pain.

 Once they arrived at the white-colored room, the smell of antiseptics reached their nostrils. Without any commando, the doctor helped Akihito sat on the chair and he immediately hurried himself towards the cabinet, taking everything that was needed to treat that kind of wound.

 As he cleaned up the wound with a bowl of warm water, Kou asked, "Aki, you can tell me now."

 The photographer only peeked through the corner of his eyes. Sighing, he decided that it's best to tell Kou everything he needed to know. After all, he was a bad liar when it comes to his friends, "I'm doing a scoop, Kou. And something just went out of hand, after all I couldn't get a great scoop without any risks, right?", he tried to assure his friend as he pulled out a smile.

 Seeing that, Kou could only glare, before picking up another materials to treat the wound that - thankfully - had stopped bleeding, "You know what? It pains me everytime you come to my clinic and tell me to treat your wound. You're my friend Aki, and seeing you bleed yourself is the last thing I'd ever wanted to see."

 Akihito hissed a little when the black-haired doctor pressed a little harder on his wound. He understood what Kou meant, because he, too, feels the same towards him. "But I love my job, Kou. And you know you can't stop me."

 "Yeah, stopping you from your decision is like trying to move a fucking mountain."

 The pair went silent again when Kou took his time to focus on covering the wound with a bandage. Good thing the wound wasn't that deep enough.

 "Say, Kou..", Akihito started, "Can I sleep here for today?"

 Kou looked a little bit surprised by the request. Well, it's not unusual for Akihito to suddenly want to sleep at his home, but, shouldn't it be better for him to go home by now? Of course considering his condition. Shouldn't your own home be the best remedy for a rough day?

 "Of course you can! You don't need to ask, but why?", Kou asked, growing more and more concern about the blond's life.

 The photographer looked weakly at him. He smiled, "I.. I just want to.. You know, spend some time with you? After all we've been really busy with our own job, I can't afford to see you everyday, same goes to Takato who has been busy taking care of his pregnant wife."

 Kou stared at the blond's hazel eyes for a minute. As a friend for almost 20 years, he could see that there was still something hidden beneath the smiles those eyes were throwing at him. As if, there's still something amiss beside everything that Akihito had said. But the doctor decided to just let it slide for now.

 "Okay, but you have to take out the futon by yourself, deal?"

* * *

 

 The sun had risen beautifully again just like the other mornings. The sun shone through the spaces of the window and gave the living space some warmth to start the day. It was 10 in the morning, the time for people to actually started doing their daily routines.

 Same went for Asami, who just woke up and immediately turned his laptop on. As a good boss, he must checked his men's reports daily right?

 He briefly went to the kitchen and made a morning coffee for himself, since - well - he was the only person in the house.

 Akihito didn't go home last night, which made him a little bit confused and quirking an eyebrow. Whatever the job is, it's not normal for a worker to work from noon till morning. Except for some businessman who works in a firm and has to work all night to finish his report. But, look at the blond. He went to his work in only a t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Which was not a suited attire to go to a company, right?

 Sipping his coffee, he shrugged off that thought while swiftly walking back towards his seat. Shige - who minutes ago was still sleeping - woke to find Asami walking towards him, shooting his tail upwards to show his respect for the man. Asami chuckled then, patting the animal's head to give him some achievement. Shige purred to the touch, and it instantly became clingy towards the golden eyed man. He climbed onto Asami's lap and started trashing here and there, trying to catch anything that's within his range. Including the human's rough finger that was trying to type something on the keyboard.

 "Shige..", he huffed out, but still letting the cat got his finger into its mouth though.

 His phone rang so suddenly, making both creatures jolted up a little bit. Asami took the initiative to grab the phone and reflexively answered the call, "Asami speaking."

 [ "Asami - sama, I have sent you an important article that might perk up your interest." ], that monotonous voice spoke.

 Asami breathed out once as he checked his inbox. Indeed, there was a new message for him that was sent 4 minutes ago. He clicked it rapidly twice and the file automatically opened up on the screen. There, he saw the highlight news.

  ** _Yamamoto Saki - A Politician For Vile?_**

  _Hmm, that sure looks interesting_ , Asami thought.

 He decided to read even further.

  _Tuesday (10/4), our latest politician, Yamamoto Saki, has been caught red-handed doing some deal with an unknown businessman. The information that has been sent by our reporter (including the photos) has absolutely aroused the suspicion in the public. "..._

 "He was caught red-handed?", Asami muttered, "How stupid."

 After thinking for a whole 2 minutes, Asami exhaled the breath he had been holding in. He sharpened up his eyes, the venom aura slowly crept around his shoulders, titling him the man who you cannot mess with. "Kirishima, I want you to find out what kind of deal he had been doing, and of course I want the perfect detail, including the business partner. I will absolutely not tolerate his life anymore even if he does as little as scratching my goods.", he smirked, eyes filled with more and more killing intent, "I need some exercise, Kirishima. Maybe torturing someone might be the brightest choice."

 Kirishima was silent for a moment. After all Asami knew, even after all these years that bespectacled guy had been working under him, the murderous intent he always let out whenever he was in the mood for killing someone always made the secretary shudders, even for a single moment.

 [ "Yes, Asami - sama. I will send you the daily reports." ], after that, Asami cut the call off, giving his secretary some time.

 His blood immediately boiled at the thought of his stolen goods being sold away without his acknowledgement. No, he would never allow that thing to happen. He would absolutely show that politician just who he had been messing with this whole time.

 Unbeknownst to him, Shige had been shifting away from his lap. Fear surrounded him like a dark trash bin he had always been his entire stray life. It silently scurried to the front door as Asami didn't notice, completely focusing all of his attention towards the shining monitor of his laptop.

 When the front door was suddenly opened, Shige got panicked and reflexively growled softly at the intruder. When it let its two rounded, shining eyes to see who-the-fuck-opened-the-door, a blond head peeked through the little opening the door. Hazel eyes immediately shot towards him as the owner constantly giving it a cheeky grin before coming in and closed the door behind him.

 Still smiling, Akihito bent low, and grabbed the cat between his sweaty palms, "What's wrong Shige? Am I that scary to you?", he teased the little animal playfully, nudging their noses together.

 Hearing the familiar voice, Asami immediately ran his eyes towards the door, where he met those tired-looking hazel eyes that stared back at him weakly. He smiled then, "I'm home."

 Asami quirked an eyebrow at that. He wanted to ask why he just came home now but nah, he chose to let it pass. After all what the blond did was not his business.

 He still eyed the younger man as he strode towards the kitchen to open the groceries he bought earlier that day. "Have you had your breakfast?"

 "No, I only had coffee in the morning."

 "You only drink coffee in my environment I see.", Akihito spoke whilst busying himself rummaging the contents of each plastic bags, "Having too much caffeine could kill you, you know?"

 Asami didn’t answer, he only observed the blond that was now busying himself with grabbing each of the plastic bag’s contents. It was indeed filled with ingredients for something. There were silken tofu, green onions, and.. what looked like a new package of miso paste. He guessed Akihito wants miso soup for breakfast-slash-lunch.

 He knew those ingredients of course. After all he often accidentally saw Kirishima cooking for him. And the most frequently food the secretary had for his boss was the miso soup. After all it was fast cooked and served.

 When he saw Akihito preparing the ingredients to cook, he unconsciously spoke, “Need help?”

 He was surprised at himself as well. Who would have thought a great and mighty crimelord would ever offer someone a hand when it comes to cooking? No, he would probably never ever do that in every aspects. But whatever, he needed something to do or else his muscles would be useless. What does he want to do with all these triceps?

 The blond – who looked like he was surprised too – turned his head in a fast motion while widening his eyes, which looked so funny and amusing in Asami’s eyes. “Wh-What?”

 “I know you heard me just fine.”, Asami smirked, starting to stand up from the couch and head towards the kitchenette.

 Akihito stared at him as if he was some kind of a weirdo, but he just got back to what he was doing – which was slicing the tofus softly into cubes – before mumbling, "Suit yourself."

 Asami stood beside the blond then, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do to help and silently asking for that. Akihito who had sensed that since long ago finally gave up on being quiet. He stopped his must-full-with-sincere work before glancing through the corner of his eyes, "Can you get me 2 cups of water please? And also, please prepare the miso paste."

 Asami immediately did his job like a good boy. Bringing two cups of water as he was told to and unpackaging the miso paste as well. The blond observed him silently. Smiling, he thought, _maybe this guy isn't so bad after all._

Just as he was about to be lost in his thoughts, something that felt like a flash of pain shot through his senses, waking him back to reality. He immediately ran his eyes towards the source of pain and saw his index finger bled from the cut of his sharp knife. He hissed in pain at the realization as he slowly put the knife on the counter and brought his index finger closer, observing the already blood-pooled surface of his porcelain-like skin.

 Hearing his hisses, Asami turned his attention towards him, asking, "What's wrong?"

 Akihito only took a glance at him before looking back at his aching finger as he spoke, "Ah it's.. I accidentally cut my finger."

 To his surprise, Asami strode towards him and took a hold of his left hand, whose index finger already tainted with pure red. Akihito jolted up in surprise. He was surprised not only because of the sudden concern he got from his cold-shouldered guest, but also the fact that his hand was actually warm against his skin. The blond shivered.

 "Hey.. Let go.. I'm gonna wash it so-"

 Another surprise. Instead of letting go, Asami took the initiative to pull the finger slowly towards his mouth and placed it indeed in his mouth. Akihito's shivers increased instantly when he felt that mouth suck, and that warm tongue swapped around his finger. He wanted to break free but somehow his body just froze, and that hand that held his wrist tight wasn't any help either.

 Hazel eyes locked its gaze on those golden eyes which were hidden behind those black bangs that fell flawlessly from his head as he bent down, sucking so much blood out of the cut to actually dry it, so the blood would stop flowing. That's actually the basic of healing, and saliva is the best medicine to stop the flowing blood, or that's what most science book says.

 After several seconds, Asami peeked up to see the other person, golden eyes stayed sharp as ever, mouth never leaving the bleeding finger. He could tell that there was something more in those hazel orbs, something more than just pretending not to feel in pain whenever he sucked too hard. Something that he really couldn't describe, since he didn't know about it either.

 He didn't know why the blond's eyes suddenly turned out to be hazy, nor he knew about the fact that his cheeks started to blush a deeper red.

 Akihito couldn't take his eyes away from the one that also stared at him as Asami kept sucking and licking, sucking and licking, over and over again. He saw those tongue sensually imprinted its trace along the cut, the way Asami licked him _sensually_ , or so he thought.

 He didn't know why his heart suddenly beat faster than before, nor he knew about the fact that Ryu was still continuing his ministrations even though his blood was already stopped flowing, even though his help was not necessary anymore.

 For what felt like eternity, the black-haired one finally let go, bringing the finger down slowly as he lifted up his gaze with the same pace. Manner was cool as ever.

 Akihito looked down, he suddenly felt nervous to see Asami in the eye. Blushing even deeper, he whispered "Th-Thank you" then scurried away towards the bathroom, which he locked almost immediately after he went in.

 Seeing that, Asami smirked. The blond was totally a virgin, that's for sure. And the way he blushed just by having his finger licked by a man showed him more than enough that he was gay, or bi. He was not into girls he guessed. He had never seen the blond talking about girls before, or talking to a girl on the phone.

  _This is going to be fun_ , he mused. 

* * *

 

 When he entered the bathroom, he instantly met his own reflection on the mirror that was placed right in front of the door, perfect with the sink just below it. Akihito then realized he had made a funny expression; blushing cheeks and overreacted eyes expression made him look like a panic teenager when she was about to lose her virginity.

 He went towards the sink and washed his face afterwards, cleaning his wound and putting a band-aid to cover the cut.

  _Why did he do that?_ Akihito asked himself silently whilst calming the out-of-rhythm beating of his heart. That was the very first time anyone had ever done to him. Being so close, or too close in this case. The blond himself didn't know whether that licking action he did was because of his human's instinct? His reflex? Or.. Did he just _intentionally_ did it?

 Akihito sighed.

_Dammit, I'm overthinking about something unnecessary again. What am I wasting my time for? Ryu was only trying to help me. He didn't mean anything by that, did he? It's probably a normal thing to do for him. Silly me._

_He's gonna be gone soon. Best not bother about him._

 He knew that once he's attached to someone, it would be so hard for him to let go. That's why he had never wanted to be in a relationship. Basically, he was afraid to be hurt.

 At the end of his thoughts, Akihito felt the flick of pain from his right shoulder. _Right, need to change the bandage._

* * *

  That night, Akihito didn't choose to go to that mysterious room. Instead, he slept earlier than usual, tucking his small body inside the blanket in his warm, comfy single bed.

 An hour passed after the blond went to his dreamland, leaving Asami and Shige in the real world. Asami could hear the faint snore from the room, since it wasn't closed and he had a perfect hearing sense.

 He closed his laptop, and chose to retire the night as well. Kirishima hadn't contacted him this entire day, which meant the secretary needs more time to track that Yamamoto's whatever-it-is business. That single fact had gotten to Asami's nerves. He wished to at least be there for his underlings, for his men, for his army. At least to lead them. He felt like an useless boss right now.

 Looking downwards, Shige was slowly falling asleep, it's eyes fluttered heavily from the strong urge to sleep. Asami slowly pet the cat's head and the slumber had finally caught all of it's self-restraint to sleep. Shige curled on Asami's lap and snored peacefully, as if there was nothing troublesome happened in it's life.

 The golden-eyed man so, very slowly picked the cat up and placed it on the couch beside him, standing up afterwards. He eyed the room for several minutes before deciding to go there.

 As he opened the door even wider for his big body to come in, he could see the relaxed figure of a blond sleeping soundly. He laid on his back, sleeping like a confined sleeping beauty who's laying in his stunning white suit.

 As he leaned closer, Akihito shifted uncomfortably in his sleep, the crease between his eyebrows somehow deepened. He quirked an eyebrow. I haven't even touched him yet..

 Asami carefully placed both his hands besides Akihito's shoulders. The weight that was caused from his body weight made both hands sunk into the soft bed. When he heard the bed shifting even further, he ran his eyes to observe the occupant of it. Turned out Akihito was shutting his eyes shut real tight, as if holding down the pain or something like that.

 Golden eyes found something amiss at that. He carefully scanned the blond's body from head to toe and didn't see any bandage covering his body parts. At least the body parts that weren't covered by his long-sleeved pajamas.

  _It's definitely not his legs.._ Asami mused. Thinking fast, the man checked his face, but still found nothing.

 But when he swiftly opened up the shoulder area a bit, there he saw it. A red, rounded patch covered by a bandage rested innocently on Akihito's right shoulder. It looked new though. Asami frowned, _What does this blond do to have such unusual place to be bandaged?_

Once that thought was out of his brain, he shrugged it off. Thinking about his motto that spoke 'his business isn't mine', but he somehow failed to not feel a tiny bit of worry.

  _I'm gonna ask him tomorrow._

_No matter what he says, I will find out everything about him._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter updated!!XD  
> since im not allowed to play laptop on weekdays, im thinking on updating my stories every weekend:/  
> I do not own the Finder Series


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited

Akihito woke up slowly from his bed, soreness ached the moment he moved, pain screamed the moment he yawned. The blond instinctively checked his right shoulder - at least take a look if it's getting better or not - and he immediately sighed a deep sigh of relief as he saw his wound didn't open up like the first morning he spent at Kou's. It was still aching, really, but at least the wound would start closing soon, and that fact alone lightened up the burden on his shoulders.

 He went towards the bathroom to get himself some wake-up call, just like what he did almost every morning if he wasn't in a rush. He changed the bandage afterwards, and tidied himself upon a mirror. The insect bite he got days ago seemed to fade out, and he thanked Lord that nobody saw it when it was still clear with it's bright purple-ish color.

 The blond then made his way towards the living room, where his only couch sat simply in front of the chattering sound of TV. It had become more and more usual for him to see a man with black hair and a pair of golden eyes laid on his back on the couch with his left hand on the top of his eyes and the right one rubbed the head of a kitten. It had somehow become natural for him to see it, to see him occupying one-fourth of his living environment.

 As gentle as humanly possible, he tiptoed towards the sleeping man, anticipating any awkward moment that might happen if he finds Aki tiptoeing towards him. Once he was right beside the couch, he immediately knelt down, seeing the man in the same eye-level. _Ryu does look really different when he sleeps.._ He mused.

 The way his black jet bangs fell helplessly on his face made him look so utterly peaceful; as if he was harmless. But that fierce looking face told people otherwise. Over all, he looked like a sleeping predator that could wake up in any minute if a single feather touches him, a light-sleeper, waiting for its prey to come to him. Maybe it was just all in Akihito's head, but he somehow pictured his guest that way, and he didn't feel like he thought wrong. Because the man's aura itself had screamed something that rhymes with 'power', 'fearless', and 'animal'. Wild, beast.

 Akihito placed both hands on the edge of the coach and rested his head on it, hazel eyes locked onto the pair of eyes that were still unwilling to wake up. _Looking up closely, this Ryu guy really has his own charm.. Despite his cold and ignorant attitude of course.._

 The blond suddenly and unconsciously brought his hand up and placed it on the man's cheek, making slow circles with his index finger. He knew he shouldn't be doing this. _After all, isn't it a little bit disturbing to find a stranger touching your cheek first thing when you wake up?_

 But Akihito couldn't resist the temptation. This Ryu guy that was still sleeping soundly in front of him seemed so far away. They were living in the same space but their thoughts couldn't reach each other. Akihito may had said something like 'It's none of your business' million times already towards him whenever he questioned Aki something personal, but the blond would be lying if he says that he doesn't want to know the man better. He did.

 His closed behavior made Akihito scared sometimes. _What if he's a bad guy? What if he's a bloodlust torturer? What if he's a yakuza? What if he's an enemy that would stab me in the back one day when I'm not looking? When I have grown contend with him?_

 Those 'what if's questions kept filling his head mercilessly since yesterday. He couldn't shake off the nerve-wrecking tension in his chest whenever he replayed yesterday's event in his head. The finger-licking event that popped up in his dream even. He knew that if he thinks about it any further, he would fall more and more down towards the abyss. He would never be able to crawl back up again, and that was what he was scared of.

 Akihito didn't even realize the fact that he was slowly leaning closer towards the peaceful-looking face of the sleeping man, until those two eyelids snapped open, revealing the most intimidating golden eyes of the awakened owner. In an instant, Akihito jumped back and found his back latched onto his TV, eyes wide and chest heaved. "That scared the shit outta me!", he yelled out his frustration.

 "I should be the one saying that.", Asami spoke lazily while yawning, "After I woke up with your face suddenly right in front of mine."

 "What are you doing anyway?", Asami continued, eyeing the blond suspiciously while patting the head of the still sleeping Shige, so soundly on his lap.

 "Uhh.. It's.. It's nothing -really!", the blond laughed sheepishly whilst slowly standing up and attempted on walking away.

 Sensing that, Asami immediately shot out his hand and took a hold on that tiny wrist, slowly but harshly pulled it towards his direction.

 Akihito who was not yet ready for the sudden gesture he received stumbled down and the gravity immediately pulled him towards the offender. He reflexively straddled the man's legs as his hands landed on that broad shoulders to balance himself. The flick of pain immediately rushed towards his brain as his right shoulder was forcedly pulled, the wound from yesterday started screaming for good treatment. He bit his lip to shut a cry and held a single drop of tear from dropping. Asami could clearly see it.

  _He's really in pain.._

"Ryu! What the fuck is tha-!"

 "Takaba."

 Akihito immediately stopped his whining when that seriousness layered that already stern voice. Ryu had always been serious in everything, but never had he heard him being _this_ serious. The blond grew more fidget as those stares were continuously sent his way, it was as if Ryu could see right through him, know him better than himself.

 "L-Let me go..", he tried once again, softening his voice to actually tell the other party that he was sincerely serious about not being comfortable in his hold. Especially his shoulder. He needed some spaces to actually calm the pain down, or go straight to the bathroom to take the painkillers from Kou.

 "Your shoulder,", Asami spoke, "what happened?"

 Akihito widened his eyes at that, _he knows?_ "W-What shoulder? My shoulder's fi-"

 The rough pull his pajama's top got from the black-haired man made some of the buttons fell off right away, but it was not the part that made him concerned. The fact that his bandaged right shoulder immediately came to the view, and he really couldn't cover it up since Ryu held his hand tight, immobilizing and paralyzing him under his power.

 "There you have it.", Asami spoke.

 Even though his face was still firm - jaw clenched, eyes sharp - but Akihito could feel the victoriousness coloring his voice. And that, made Akihito a little bit pissed.

 "I-It's.. It's nothing y'know! Umm.. What is it called.. Accidents while working?"

 "Just what kind of 'working' are you talking about here? That wound doesn't seem to be usual in those mainstream fields of job.", Asami loosened up the grip on the blond's hand, "Well, I haven't mentioned the 'anti-mainstream fields of job' yet."

 When Akihito realized that his restraint was loosened up, he immediately slapped those bigger hands away and jerked his body off the man's lap; breaking free, "We have agreed right? To not minding each other's kind of business. Hell, it was you who told me that. And besides, you would leave shortly after a few more days right? Knowing or not knowing about me would not change anything.", he yelled, raising his voice with each sentence that came out.

 "Then you don't need to be that loud, Takaba.", Asami responded, "You look like a deer that was caught up on the highlight. What is it? Did I hit the nail right on the head?"

 The arrogance and defiance were so clear in his voice it gave the blond shivers. _This man doesn't look like he's going to let it go_ , he thought deeply, _but what should I tell him? 'Hi I'm a crime-photographer and I was chased down by some crimelord that has guns and underlings that might be affiliated with yakuzas'?_ , "Look, anything's fine with me, thanks for asking. But you and I are not friends and some sort like that and in all honesty, I don't have any intention on becoming one. So, I will keep my business off your reach so will you, and a few days later you will go out of my house with a simple goodbye and immemorable memory of you ever living here. No harm done, no heartbreak. Are we clear?"

 Asami quirked an eyebrow at that. _Why does he have to be so defensive when it comes to his personal affairs?,_ "You're scared of other people aren't you.", it was not a question, it was a statement.

 And when that statement was thrown at him, Akihito felt himself become more and more mad than before. 'How dare you act like you know me better than anyone?!', Akihito shouted internally. But instead of that harsh respond, he asked, "Why do you say that? We even barely know each other."

 "That's why we need to know each other to prove me right.", Asami replied, smug smirk stretching handsomely under his perfect-sculpted nose, as if he was born with that perfectness.

 The blond pouted. _Calm down, Aki. He's just trying to bait you. No need to rush, just handle this man professionally, like you always do with other people._ "Just so you know, I hate people like you."

 "And why is that?"

 "You're that kind of person who thinks he could get anything he wants just by ordering around. Well, good news, I'm not that easily ordered. If you want to know more about me, find it out yourself."

 Asami smirked, "Just for your information, I can find so many information just by the click of a finger, even down to what's your blood type. I have my ways."

 The man could see Akihito's body stiffened upon hearing those facts. Facts it is. Asami indeed had the power to know anything about one man just by knowing his name. And challenging him to find out who or what are you was just a wrong move to do.

 The blond played feign ignorance and headed towards his kitchen, pretending to not care about the threat, "Do what you must. I don't care."

 As Akihito finally busied himself with the breakfast, a buzz from the rounded table in front of the couch got Asami's attention. The man picked it up - as it was his phone after all - and upon seeing the caller ID, he immediately went towards the bedroom and closed the door shut, not allowing an eavesdropper any chance.

 "Asami speaking.", he spoke lowly, anticipating if Akihito stands near the door.

 [ "Asami - sama, we have gotten the profile of the business partner of Yamamoto Saki. We have also tracked down the deal they did, and unfortunately, we believe it is affiliated with the stolen goods." ]

 Asami quirked an eyebrow at that. _Tch._

 "I will come visit this 'business partner' tomorrow. I wish he would be so glad to have me as a company.", the golden eyed man spoke, voice was dark and full of murderous intent. He didn't like anyone touching his goods without his permission, and even though there was a probability this guy doesn't know whom those goods belong to, the fact wouldn't change. He had touched it. And Asami was not amused.

 "Kirishima, set an appointment with him at 10 AM. I don't tolerate any excuses." 

[ "Yes, Asami - sama." ]

* * *

 

 "Yamada - san, how is it?", Akihito asked, eyes growing more rounded than before like marbels. He was so eager when his boss called him and told him to go to the office. It must be related with the photos he had taken of Yamamoto yesterday.

 "It turned out great, congratulations, Takaba - san.", the old man replied, sipping his coffee as he continued, "You deserve your usual payment and, a bonus."

 The blond felt like flying to cloud 9 when he thought about the things he would do with all that money. _New camera, new camera, new came-_

 "However, I feel a little bit worried about you."

 "Huh?", Akihito was immediately knocked out of his daydream when he heard the concern in the man's voice, "Worried? Why?"

 "I'm afraid Yamamoto saw your face when you go on his scoop.", Yamada - san leaned win while folding his arms to support his weight, "Recently, I have caught several men in black that are certainly not going on a vacation around here. It seems like, they are searching or stalking someone around here."

 "Huhh? But how? If they really are stalking me, how are they supposed to know where do I work at?"

 "Yamamoto is a shrewd politician, of course any kind of news would immediately sent to his ears. He must have read the article, idiot. And we are the publisher of the news, of course he would know!", he raised his voice, gripping the handle of his mug so tightly it might break the mug itself.

 Seeing the tension in his boss' eyes, Akihito breathed out calmly, just to convince his boss with his looks but it seemed it wasn't enough. So, he tried, "Yamada - san, I assure you I will be okay. I'm your best photographer remember? I have this pair of fast legs that won't let me be caught by any predators on earth. And I also have this pair of elastic hands to support me to climb, to reach, or to do anything it could do to keep me hidden. I have this stubborn mind, dirty mouth, and cheeky personality to manipulate the enemies. I will be fine.", he then smiled, a pure smile to calm the old man.

 "Oh, may I take my leave now? I have a date with my friend around this hour. Oh! And I will take this beautiful brown envelope from you!", he snatched his payment away from the boss' grasp and let a cheeky tongue to peek through the little opening between his upper and lower lips.

 Just as he was about to grip the door handle, Yamamoto - san spoke, "Just.. Be careful now. Always watch your back, Takaba - san."

 He could see the blond's shoulders lowered down a little, as if he was sighing. "I will.", he muttered one last time before closing the door behind him, leaving the old man alone with a weak 'slam' and a worry heart. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i know theres nothing really exciting in this chapter.. im so sworry:'( /cries like a man/  
> anyway, i just want to inform u guys that maybe, i could not update next week. bcs i have this 3 exams, i have this assignment which requires me to make a short movie, i have courses, cramschool and all and i dont think i will have the time to write the story:( im so sworryyy  
> i hope u guys enjoy this chapter!  
> I do not own the Finder Series.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited. rushed.

“Kou! What happened?”, the black haired guy came rushing towards the bar stool where his friends sat. Kou just called him earlier saying that Akihito had gone drunk, and so without thinking, Takato ran to their place immediately knowing his friend must be depressed about something. Leaving his clingy girlfriend in the middle of their argument.

“Just like you can see, this drunken bastard..”, Kou snorted while continuously stroking the blond’s back. Akihito groaned out the mixed-up feeling he felt inside the pit of his stomach.

Takato stared at the photographer like he was staring at an alien. It was rare for Akihito to get this drunk, unless he was depressed or frustrated about something. Takato then lifted up his gaze to meet up with Kou’s, and silently demanded an explanation.

“For that, I can’t really answer you. Honest.”, Kou answered the silent question, “He has never told me about what’s wrong anymore. It’s as if he’s hiding something. I’ve tried to ask him, but he kept on insisting that he’s okay. What do I do, then?”

“Really..”, Takato sighed, “, for the only blond in our group, he is freaking careless.”

“What should we do with him then?”, Kou asked, quirking his eyebrow as he did so.

“Let’s just drag his ass home. What else could we do? In this state, talking with him is probably pointless.”, Takato responded while slowly bringing his arm around the sleeping blond’s waist, gradually standing up so he was supporting Akihito’s weight.

“Ryuu..”, the photographer muttered out, “, you baka.. jerk.. bas—“, then he fell into another deep slumber, his mouth hanging opened.

Hearing that, Kou and Takato could only share a glance with each others. What the fuck was that? They silently did the telepathy. Shaking off their thoughts, they swayed together out of the bar with a sleeping, annoying, drunken, friend of theirs.

 

It took them 35 minutes from the bar to reach the worn-out apartment of the photographer. With so much effort they carried him up towards the third floor, where his room was located at the farthest corner of the corridor. When they reached the door, Kou casually slipped in his hand into Akihito’s pocket and fished out his metal keys. 

They rushed towards the main bedroom and threw Akihito onto it. The body helplessly fell onto the bed like a sandbag. Kou wiped out his sweat from his forehead while sighing. When he took a glance towards the other guy, he realized that Takato was currently.. sniffing. 

Tilting his head towards one side, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I smelled something… weird…”, 

"Weird?", Kou emphasized, "Weird like?"

"Like cigarettes. And it's Dunhill's."

Both went silent for a moment when they remembered that Akihito indeed didn't like any smell of smokes, especially Dunhills. And having this kind of scent lingering in his own threshold was weird, right?

Kou shared a glance towards the unconscious blond for a moment, before speaking, "You know what, I want to ask him tomorrow. What about you?"  
"Same. He's getting weirder."

After agreeing at some points, both nodded at each other, before leaving the small apartment behind them, not even fogetting about locking the doors and stuffs.

* * *

Somewhere a bit far away in the middle of the night, a man's scream echoed through the thin air, embracing the stillness of the night. The scream of pure terror, horror, it could even beat the most miserable shriek in the past. 

The darkness that swallowed any kind of light, was currently layering above a warehouse which held the most treasured, locked, wicked things that were sold on earth. World wide. Guns, and not to mention, drugs. Someone was gonna pay for those. Dearly.

Corpses were scattered around him. Those were once his friends, who laughed with him, drank with him, spoke to him. Never had he imagined those persons to be like this, to become so lifeless like this so soon. And he was the first one to watch. To watch them dying. 

Cold sweat started pouring down his temple, his eyes stung for another cry. But unfortunately his tears had already dried away, making it impossible to even shed one. He just sat there on the floor, hands tied behind his back and mouth shut with a dirty cloth stuffed into it. He tried to not shiver, he tried to, but fuck pride, this was more terrifying than those nightmares he got when he was a kid.

In front of him, stood a man who once ruled over the underworld by the palm of his hands. But that was in the past. He was no one now, He convinced himself, as if trying to make his offender less scary than before. But however, no matter how hard he tried to make it not scary for him, those golden eyes just wouldn't stop staring down at him, staring at his every moves, as if he was a fragile prey that the predator needed to watch for. Knowing that it was hopeless after all to just look at the man's eyes, he looked away, trying to avoid any eye-contact that would probably make his stomach feels worse than before.

"Nakajima Shougo,", the man spoke venomously, breaking the deafening silence in the room, ", as fellow businessman, I hope you would look me in the eye when we are currently negotiating about something crucial like this.", 

The poor businessman was harshly pulled back into the sight that terrified him the most. The sight of those cruel golden eyes that shone death upon him. He shivered as the intensity of that stare increased, as the grip on his collar tightened as well. 

With voice as deadly as poison, the man spat once again, "I know what you've been doing during my absence. Never had thought that a loyal dog would betray his master like this."  
Shougo shook his head rapidly, eyes wide in fear with pupils shrunk into dots. He knew defying the man was a dead wish, but he couldn't help it. Using the man's property really did help him building his image, but unfortunately, it could also be the death of him. He knew it but still... 

"Asami - sama,", the glasses guy that had stood loyally beside the golden-eyed man since they came breaking inside the warehouse finally broke the silence, ", we have gathered all the goods. I believe the remaining goods are still in Yamazaki - san's possession. What should we do next?"

Asami didn't waver his vision from his prey. His voice low and crisp and gave you the creep, "Alright. We will get to him later. If our business here is done then, let's go.", he turned his cold sholder around, making Shougo sighed out a sigh of relief, ", oh one more thing. Burn this warehouse down, just seeing it makes me sick."

Hearing those sets of words made Shougo inhaled his breath back rapidly, making him choke on his own pain.

As the group of men walked casually out of the place, a huge flame was set behind them, burning the traitors down to ashes.

 

Asami sat comfortably on the backseat with piles of reports in his hands. He had been absent from his work for too long, causing the papers to be piled up like this. Kirishima watched his boss intently from the rear mirror, as he sighed a relief that his boss indeed hadn't changed. He was still a stoic, hard working man as he was in the past. Good thing it was.

The golden-eyed man glanced towards his secretary through the dark-tinted glass that separated the backseat and driver's seat and spoke, "I see you've done a great job Kirishima. Congratulations on becoming Asami number two.", he smirked.

"Thank you, sir.", Kirishima bowed his head slightly, ", but I deeply apologize that we can't track down the remaining goods yet. It seems Yamazaki has tightened up the security of his routes. But I assume you that we will track it down in no time, sir."

"I honestly am not worried about it, Kirishima. Knowing how reliable you are and how dumb he is.", Asami smirked.

Kirishima silently smirked back, while turning the steer 90 degrees to the right to take a turn. 

What happened at the meeting a week ago seemed like another dream. It happened so fast yet ended so fast too. Asami was no kidding man. Once you laid your hands on what was his, you were done for. Just like Shougo, or the other stupid businessmen that tried to surpass him. In the end, everyone would lay under his feet, making up the stairs so that he could step on them and make his way towards the top. Kirishima also, thought that one day, he would vanish in that man's hands. His, Suoh's, and the others' lives were already dancing strictly in his palm, and they didn't mind. Even a bit. Because they had sworn loyalty to him, with their life. 

Asami was a single man, with no one stands beside him.

At least that was what Kirishima thought at first.

When he met Asami first time in a week, the cruel, cold-hearted gaze he usually sent upon anyone in front of him had slightly... Changed. It somehow felt lighter than before, not that he was worried about it. Lighter or not, it was still Asami alright. But it kinda confused him somehow. Just what kind of thing or person the man had encountered to make him changed like this?

Less than 30 minutes later, the black sedan stopped abruptly in front of a run-down looking apartment. Kirishima lowered down the separator window and asked, "Is here okay, sir?"

Asami only gave him a curt nod once and opened the door for himself. Before stepping out of the car, the golden-eyed man looked back once then spoke, "Keep tracking the other goods. I'm waiting for your reports, Kirishima."

The secretary nodded once before pulling the car back into another journey.

Finally being left alone, Asami let out a single sigh before walking further towards the apartment. Carefully, he stepped on the metallic stairs as to not make any unnecessary noises that could cause suspicion around the neighborhood. After all it had passed midnight, any kind of prejudge could be thrown his way.

Upon arriving in front of the familiar door with the nameplate ‘Takaba’, Asami fished out the spare key in advance. He slid the key into the keyhole and twisted it open, closing the door behind him afterwards. The apartment itself was surprisingly quiet. Well of course because usually, that blond guy would usually watch midnight’s horror show until dawn. 

Remembering that, Asami grew cautious as he slowly stepped further into the threshold.

Everything was perfectly tucked into place, nothing was amiss. Maybe he was asleep? The old man thought as he walked towards the bedroom. Truth be told, Akihito was indeed asleep, without even changing his clothes and a flushed face that signed him that he was drunk. Asami gave a heavy sigh before taking off his tux out of his perfect-built shoulders, along with the vest that graced his torso. 

As silent as possible, he strode towards the sleeping figure on the bed, and intended to change the blond’s clothes. After all it’s not good to sleep with a pair of jeans on, right?

“Nngh...”, a voice suddenly caught him off-guard, as he saw Akihito slowly fluttering his eyelids open, “, who’z dat...?”, he groggily spoke.

“It’s Ryu.”, Asami answered while sighing deeply again. He must be still drunk until now. Just look at how ridiculous the way he talk is!

Akihito glared a little bit before continuing, “Ohh.. t’s ya’ bastard... the Mr. Kno’ id all...!”, he tried to sit up.

Asami quirked an eyebrow at all. Mr. Know It All? He shook that thought while helping the blond to sit up, supporting him by putting his hands under his armpits so that he could lift him into a sitting position.

“YA THINK YA COUL’ KNO’ MOAR BOUT ME?!”, the blond started trashing aloud, lifting both his hands on the air as if he was trying to eat Asami alive, “DON’T THINK YA COUL’!”, as his upper body was lifted up towards Asami, he lost his balance, causing him to fall on top of the older man instead.

Asami fell hard onto the floor with blond on top of him. He rubbed his head a little to clear the grogginess he felt from having his head hit the floor. Once he cleared his vision, he glanced towards the blond that laid on top of him. At first, he had expected to see a mop of blond hair in front of him, but instead, what met with was that pair of intense hazel eyes, staring back at him.

He was quiet surprised at the stare he received from the blond, and decided to stay silent for awhile, just to see Akihito’s reaction.

Akihito jutted out his lips for a moment before crawling his way up so that he was face to face with Asami. The intensity in his eyes didn’t decrease when he finally spoke, “Ya’ act liek ya’ kno’ ever’thing bout me.. it makes me kind o’ restless ya kno’?”, he traced his fingers on Asami’s face, scanning the sculptures of his face like he was a piece of art, “Ya seem liek ya’ kno’ ever’thing.. while ‘m still stuck figurin’ ya out..”

Asami pulled another handsome eyebrow up at that time. But before he could ask him what’s wrong, Akihito continued, “..at leazt lemme kno’ bout ya too.. it makez me uneazy to not kno’ bout ya’.”, after that, he pulled his finger out of the older man’s face and let his eyes alone travel those handsome features.

Within second, the golden eyed man placed his hand on the blond’s waist and sat. Akihito was a little bit surprised and clung onto Asami while he was being lifted up from the laying position. Once they were sat, both just stared at each other for a minute, not intending to break the stillness between them.

With a smirk gracing his feature, Asami spoke, “Do you want to know more about me that bad?”

Surprisingly, Akihito nodded, a little bit aggressive than he was supposed to. The older man let out a deep chuckle before lifting them both onto the bed, where he sat against the headboard with Akihito on his lap.

“What if I am a bad person? Would you kick this poor kitten out?”, Asami teased, while slowly drawing circles with his fingers on the blond’s sides.

Akihito shivered a little by the touch but he still managed out, “..’s not like I kno’ what I woud’ do with ya’.. maybe.. maybe not.. I don’t kno’..!”

“Oh? Then I’m afraid that I still have the possibility of being kicked out.”, Asami spoke while slowly gripping onto Akihito’s ass, making the blond gasped in surprise.

He didn’t know what triggered him to do his next actions, but everything seemed to play on it’s own. His instinct just told him to do that, and it took a toll against his self-control. He flipped their positions so that he was above Akihito, and without even wasting one minute of their precious time together, he advanced on kissing Akihito deeply, furiously, as if he was a hungry animal that hadn’t been fed for a long time.

The blond also didn’t know if it was because of the effect of the beers he drank that hadn’t been died down but he also, had the desire to kiss the man back with the same amount of intensity. 

With the moon hung highly above them, and the stars layering the sky around them, they just embraced each other like they had known for a long time. Like they had been hungry for each other. Until the sun went up again, and a new kind of challenges had already been set for the two of them..

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay! i was hit with a giant rock called writer's block and i couldn't really do anything about it..  
> something exciting will happen in the next chapters.. at least that's what i think:|  
> i hope u guys enjoy this:3  
> I do not own the Finder Series.  
> ps: it's hard to write some business-y dialogues i swear!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! um, im sorry for the really looooooong delay:( i have so many examinations in any form these three weeks and i have been stuck with another writer's block in this. i tried to test out my grammar and vocabularies thats why i chose the words very, very carefully. i want it to sound classy but i guess.. this just turns out like my everyday chapter lolXD  
> anyway, this is self-beta'd, so if there's any mistake just point it out!

It was 8 o'clock in the morning when he finally found the energy to flutter his eyes open to wake up. His consciousness started to seep in, his own voice started to be registered to his ears. The next thing he recognized was the usual and delightful sound of the birds chirping from the apartment beside his, who was resided by an old man who was a shipper for birds with beautiful voices. At first, he was disturbed by the voices the chirped messily, but now, he was grateful for it. Because it could be the alarm, the reminder that he was still alive to wake up on the next morning.

He could feel his muscles flexing under his skin as he tried to move his stiff fingers. It felt like the longest yet the most comfortable sleep he had in awhile, thinking that he didn't have any important work that needed any concern of punctuality that day.

Remembering that, Akihito sighed contentedly when suddenly - suddenly - a strike of pain jolted all of his muscles, forcing his consciousness to finally alert his brain to wake up fully. The blond sat up with a start as he groaned out the pain he felt going up and down his body, throbbing all of his nerves altogether as he tried to find the spot where it hurt the most.

He started inspecting his back - which was throbbing at the moment - and started running his hand downwards, slowly and slowly until it reached his bottom...

_Ouch. It hurts. It FREAKING hurts! ___

As his hand tried to slip in between his buttcrack, the infuriating pain came back, and it was even two timed worse than before. Akihito tried to stifle his cry when he felt it burn as a single tear slowly swelled around his cornea. _The fuck is this?! ___

Coming back to his senses, Akihito swung his legs slowly off the edge of the bed, probably intending to find some painkillers in the medicine kit he had inside his bathroom. As he tried to stand up, he could feel the ache started to increase rapidly, as if it was trying to gobble his whole ass up. Another groan slipped out his lips before he could prevent it, but he still needed to get out. At least to find something or someone to explain the reason why he has to suffer from a butt pain like this first thing in the morning.

He stood up, well he really did, at least with a not-so-straight back and trembling legs that shook under his weight. Akihito also wondered why his legs suddenly become too sore and weak to bring him out but he didn't care. He started swinging his legs forward to reach the door, one by one at a time.

Until he could feel his feet gave up carrying him.

The gravity pulled him, his weight pushed him down. Akihito fell with a loud thump, causing more and more pain coming his way. The blond didn't care anymore when he finally let out a whine, silently asking for help from anybody that was within his reach at the moment.

"Takaba?", he heard that baritone voice, that soothing, crisp voice that he had become accustomed with after having himself hearing it for some quiet time now.

Akihito unconsciously let out a sigh of relief as he put both hands on the floor and tried to support himself up. But one thing he realized and all of his will to get up shattered into a million pieces in the pit of his stomach.

_Why the hell am i naked?!?!_

"Takaba - san, you're already awake?"

The figure of a tall, black-haired, golden-eyed guest of his came to his view as he looked up at the door.

As usual, Ryuu looked awfully calm and casual with his wide chest being topless and black pajamas pants (which Akihito didn't know where the hell that pants or any other clothes Asami wore this entire time came from). That handsome face of his looked slightly amused as he looked down at the now naked Aki - all confused and frustrated - while calmly sipping down his black coffee that was in the white mug he had been holding all this time. His wide, built body leaned against the door frame as he inspected the landlord that was sprawled all over the floor.

"I don't know you're a fan of laying on the floor.", the older man commented.

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?", Akihito spat back bitterly, while still trying to get his body up.

“Need help?”, Asami offered, as he was about to kneel in front of Akihito.

“Nope!”, Akihito shot his hand out to meet the other’s face to stop him, “I can do this, alone. After all it’s only a back pain. Haha, I don’t know if I’m getting that old..”, though he himself wasn’t very sure if what he was currently facing was only a back pain. 

Asami just stood there, observing him. A pair of golden eyes glinted in amusement, his lips slowly curled up into a smirk. His hands itched to help, but he held it. It was honestly fun to watch the blond struggling despite the help he could get if he just throws his pride for a sec and asks.

On the other hand, Akihito could really feel the intensity of that stare he got. The older man's gaze was so hot against his skin it almost felt like he really wants to burn him alive with it. It made him uncomfortable. But he had to ignore it. He had to. Or else he would not get his body up like he wanted soon. He needed to focus, to ignore the other's presence-

Until his hands slipped again and he fell for the second time that day with a louder thud.

Asami held in a snort while slowly kneeling, "Are you sure you can do it alone?"

With eyes full of shame, Akihito stared at him for a moment before looking away as he replied, "Just.. Give me a hand."

With that, Asami placed both his hands under the blond's armpits and easily lifted him off the ground. Just like a child, the black-haired man placed him carefully onto the bed, and tucked him under his blanket. Not to mention he was still naked at the moment, and catching a cold was not the best option at the moment.

Akihito blushed a little at the treatment he got. It was as if he was a fragile little princess, and Ryu was his knight in the shining armor. But the pain on his back immediately brushed that thought off his mind as he settled inside his blankets once again.

"Want me to get you anything?", Asami asked, crossing his arms across his broad chest as he did so.

"Bring me some painkillers in the med kit in the bathroom.. And..", Akihito glanced at him, "I want to ask you something. Regarding my pained back."

Asami stood there for a moment before nodding briefly and walked out the room. The smirk below his nose did not cease on widening.

 

"WHAT?!"

Akihito's voice echoed throughout the apartment, shocking the peaceful chirping of the birds from next door. His voice felt like a bomb, which just exploded at the moment. His hoarse voice sounded clearer than before, as the owner did not hesitate a little bit on speaking it out.

Meanwhile, Ryu just sat there, right beside him on the edge of the bed, stared at him with the blank expression he seemed to expertise these days. He lips shut in a tight grim line as he waited for the blond's rage to die off soon.

"We did WHAT?!", Akihito repeated, his expressive hazel eyes seemed to blown more with each word that came out from his mouth.

Asami sighed a frustrated sigh. Not that he did not expect such reaction, but the way Akihito asked him several times just indicated that he didn't really want the fact to be real, "We did have sex, alright?"

The blond's shoulders slumped down. It was as if someone had thrown a rock from the cliff to him down in the abyss. It really hit him right. _Me? Ryu? Sex? ___The words kept coming back to his mind, as if wanting to be noticed to be asked again. Akihito was utterly speechless. He didn't know what to say until his mind had successfully put the puzzles together, and he came on one conclusion.

"Doesn't that mean you RAPE me?!", Akihito yelled, his fiery hazel eyes now were throwing daggers to Asami's way. He clutched the blanket tight, his eyebrows furrowed furiously. 

On the other hand, Asami who seemed to be calm, felt himself quirking an eyebrow. No, he wasn't really the rape type (in his acknowledgement) and he didn't fancy that. It was just not elegant. 

He stared down at the blond for what felt like five minutes before he spoke, "It's not called rape if you were the one who came to me." 

_'..You were the one who came to me..'_

Akihito felt his insides just fell onto the pit of his stomach. That statement hit him right in his mind, and it kept echoing against the walls in his brain. _It was... Me? ___

"Don't tell me I was still drunk..", the blond covered both of his eyes with one palm, and started messaging his forehead. _God.. This whole conversation just gives me more and more headache..._

___Asami smirked, "Yes you were.", he spoke, "And you were really clingy in that state. I ought to note that down."_ _ _

___"Note what?! Argh come on! I was drunk alright. It was just a mistake! Maybe I dazed off, and I thought you were some hot models and maybe I was clingy because of that!"_ _ _

___"No,", Asami slowly crawled to Aki, "In fact you called my name. Several times it might wake up the dead."_ _ _

___As he sensed that the older man started crawling towards him, Akihito gradually found himself gluing his back against the wall, eyes never leaving his guest, "W-What else did I say..?"_ _ _

___As Asami had reached the spot where Akihito sat, he put both of his hands on the wall, and trapped the blond with his big built body, "You said you wanted to know more about me. And it's making you restless to not know."_ _ _

___With that reminder, a new kind of red had spread across his cheeks, and it slowly colored all of his face. His mouth gaped open and his pupils shrunk to little. _Oh God.. For all the embarrassing things I have done in my entire life.. _____ _

____"Look, okay,", Akihito put both hands between them as he inhaled a quiet amount of breath into his lungs, "I admit that.. Well, I want to know more about you, well because you're my guest alright! It.. It doesn't mean anything!", he got flustered as soon as he spoke them out, "The point is, we can just pretend that it has never happened, okay? I will forget, so will you. There's nothing going on between a landlord and his guest, alright?!", his voice raised up a pitch as he emphasized the last sentence. He shot out a determined glare as he panted._ _ _ _

____Asami glared at him, his expression changed drastically to what we call a frown. His handsome eyebrows furrowed and his lips sealed in a tight grim line. He seized the distance between their face that unconsciously increase the tension between them as he spoke venomously, “Oh really? You tell me I have to forget about last night?”_ _ _ _

____Akihito was taken aback by the question the older man gave him. His eyes were once again blown wide, “Isn’t that what you want? I’m sorry alright.. Last night was an accident and I think it might bother you a little bit so yeah.. it’s better for us to forget about it.”_ _ _ _

____“Oh? It doesn’t bother me the slightest,”, Asami replied, “In fact, we know more about each other. I know more about you and so do you.”_ _ _ _

____The blond flinched, “Then.. what have you learned?”_ _ _ _

____Hearing that question, Asami just smirked. He inched a little bit closer, trapping the blond’s lithe body with his own. His big shadow shaded the little body beneath him, as if telling people that the one below him was his. On the other hand, Akihito began to shrink to the bottom. He could feel the fear started creeping up his skin as he felt the other’s breath on his skin. His wide hazel eyes looked up in curiosity, because a part of him wanted to run away, but the other part wanted to know what would happen._ _ _ _

____But they say curiosity kills the cat, right?_ _ _ _

____“For example, I know..”, he spoke as he slowly put both hands on Akihito’s sides, gradually increasing the power in his grip as time passed, “..that you’re interested in gay sex.”_ _ _ _

____“Wha- What are you-?!”, but before Akihito could mutter his protest, his body was easily pulled down and suddenly, suddenly, Asami was there, pinning him down onto the bed with both hands trapped his head between them._ _ _ _

____Two cold golden eyes stared down at him. Akihito shivered down under that gaze. He was a photographer damn it, he knew just what kind of eyes the older man was showing him. For the first time since they were living under the same roof, Akihito knew just what he was thinking at the moment, just by looking at his golden eyes._ _ _ _

____They were filled with lust. Wanton lust. The man above him was obviously, surely, lusting over him now. And that fact made the blood drained out from his face._ _ _ _

____What startled him from his own thoughts was the movement from the fingers that were planted firm on his hips, bruising his pale white skin with the pressure attached in those calloused members. What Akihito didn’t understand at the moment was the sudden beating of his heart whenever his eyes met with that heated gaze. He didn’t know if it’s caused by the danger he might get himself into in any second or.. if it’s because the statement Ryu said about him was true. What was clear in his mind right now was that, he needed to run. Run away as soon as possible, because what might happened to him may change the way he looked at his own guest, and that, scared him._ _ _ _

____He didn’t even know the answer to the why, too._ _ _ _

____“Wh- What are you doing?”, Akihito’s hazel eyes glared at him, throwing his full attention towards the human that was slowly turning into a beast in his vision._ _ _ _

____Asami looked at him, and smirked, “I want to show you just how many things I have known about you from last night.”_ _ _ _

____Along with that said, the older man started exploring the smooth abdomen under his touch so, so slowly. He touched every packs, every curves, he even touched to the cute little button that rested in the blond’s lower abdomen. Seeing that, Akihito held in the unpleasant sounds that were already building up inside his throat, from the possibility of it overflowing. But never had he once left the sight in front of him. He kept staring down, inspecting every move the man gave on him. Because he was curious._ _ _ _

____Asami was honestly pleased with the reaction the boy gave him. Just by the look on his face, Asami could pretty much tell that he was scared, obviously thinking of what ways he might possibly use to push him down and let himself free. But there was also curiosity, rested right in those two, wide pupils. Asami couldn’t help but cracked up a small smile, but then he pulled it in and continued his ministrations._ _ _ _

____Just as he had expected, the body that was laying beneath him was truly beautiful. Different from anybody else’s. He had slept with several people, alright, but no one of them truly pleased him in bed._ _ _ _

____This one, though, had gone beyond expectations._ _ _ _

____Just as Asami was about to lower down his face to do whatever-it-is to him, Akihito snapped back to reality, and his animal instinct started to kick in. He began wriggling his hips left and right, trying really, really hard to get himself free from those trapping grip. But those hands didn’t seem to give up, not even wavering the slightest bit. Akihito then advanced to trash and curse aloud, but they didn’t seem to help him at all as Asami insistently kept him still._ _ _ _

____Within minutes, Akihito had found his hands tied above his head with the help of a red, silk tie which came out of nowhere.. it was just suddenly sat there on the floor, untouched. Akihito didn’t give up, he twisted his body and tried kicking the man above him. But whatever he did, Asami successfully kept him in place; still and tired._ _ _ _

____“Let me go! This is rape! Don’t you dare, bastard, don’t you dare!”, Akihito shouted out in frustration, as he realized all of his efforts on running away, was in fact, fruitless._ _ _ _

____On the other hand, Asami had busied himself ghosting his lips above that silky, sensitive skin on the blond’s neckline. He could feel the goosebumps that raised as his soft lips touched it ever so slightly, just look at how sensitive it was! Asami bit there, a little bit hard, and a helpless moan suddenly escaped Akihito’s tired mouth. Hearing that, both of them made an eye contact, and Akihito immediately blushed out of embarrassment._ _ _ _

____The bite of course caused a mark – red, angry mark – and Asami cleverly licked all over it to soothe the pain. Akihito bit his lower lip to prevent anymore sound to come out, causing his lips to become more and more swollen with each bite he gave._ _ _ _

____His eyes unfortunately screwed shut when Asami lifted up his gaze to meet with Akihito’s face. And without his acknowledgement, Asami had lunged forward, targeting those plump, red cherry lips under that adorable, little nose. Within seconds later, Asami’s lips had made love with Akihito’s, wetting it more and more with his own saliva. Every gasps and pants and moans that once again out of Akihito’s throat was swallowed by Asami, making it sound more like stifled groans._ _ _ _

____While distracting him with that kiss, Asami’s hands didn’t stop on it’s exploration. From Akihito’s hips, it moved upwards towards his middle abdomen, filled with flat packs that could be considered as the outcome of hard training and experiences of work. He traced his fingers there, unconsciously making a line that touched Akihito’s weak points every time it went pass._ _ _ _

____Akihito reflexively buckled up his hips as he felt two sets of an index finger and a thumb rested firmly between his rounded nipples, giving it a slow, torturous tug that shot an electricity right to his groin. The gesture also affected his buds, as they gradually hardened under his touch._ _ _ _

____The blond gave up from the kiss and forcefully pulled his face away from the other man’s, giving him some room to breath. He breathed out harshly as his face flushed from the lack of oxygen and an overflowing amount of heat._ _ _ _

____But Asami didn’t stop. Despite the reaction he received, Asami continued what he was doing. He once again lowered down his vision, so that he was faced with the blond’s flat chest._ _ _ _

____“Ah! No! Don’t-! Aaaahh!!”, Akihito threw his head upwards as he felt a warm, slick tongue swept around his right areola, his tied hands were suddenly placed on Asami’s dark head, softly tugging some dark strands from his mop of hair._ _ _ _

____Moans kept on coming out from Aki, it was tiring, really, but he couldn’t hold in those filthy sounds he thought he’d never produced before, until now._ _ _ _

____Asami continued touching him for like 15 minutes long, and Akihito had felt his own member down there getting more excited with each minutes passed. It stood up, and hit his stomach several times. The blond also cringed at the fact that it was not only excited, but also leaking precum. _Do I really like gay sex? _____ _ _

_____Feeling that something below moved, Asami lowered down his gaze, and that evil glint flashed through his golden orbs. He obviously was thinking of something mischievous as he slowly slid down his one hand._ _ _ _ _

_____Akihito jolted up as he felt something touched his hardening penis. He refocused his blurry vision as he looked down. He almost cried at the realization that Asami was – indeed – surrounding his cock with the warmth of his wide palm._ _ _ _ _

_____“Oh? Your body is more honest than your mouth, I see. Just look how happy it is right now, just by being touched by me..”, Asami spoke amusingly as he gave off that predatory look._ _ _ _ _

_____Akihito gasped, “No.. it doesn’t look lik- nghh..”, he couldn’t finish his words because the moment the pressure was put on his penis, his voice was just cut out in his throat._ _ _ _ _

_____Asami was probably an expert on muting someone because the moment he pumped Akihito’s aching groin with a powerful pump, Akihito’s pained groans turned into pleasured moans._ _ _ _ _

_____That big, warm hand slid from the base to the hilt, each slide with an increasing pressure. Once in awhile, Asami would diligently brushed the little mushroom head with his thumb, smearing the white, puffy pre cum around the head. Akihito could pretty much feel something built inside his stomach as Asami continued doing that, giving him faster pumps. Akihito’s balls ached painfully, his scrotums stretched uncomfortably as he felt his testicles full._ _ _ _ _

_____“Ah.. ah.. no.. Ryu.. ngh..”, tears swelled around his eyes, his stomach hurt really bad and he needed his release soon. And what Asami did to him at the moment stimulated the need for him to burst out, and he knew he was close to…_ _ _ _ _

_____“AAAH!”, Akihito finally let out one final cry, before emptying his balls fully, spurting every last drop of his seeds out onto his stomach. Some even shot towards Asami's topless abdomen._ _ _ _ _

_____As his needs had been finally fulfilled, Akihito slumped limp onto the bed, head fell facing his right as his eyes started to drop lower and grew heavier, his mind became foggy and he suddenly felt the need to fall into another sleep, a really nice, long sleep._ _ _ _ _

_____But his consciousness immediately kicked in as a sharp slap suddenly hit one of his buttcheeks. Akihito's eyes shot opened once again as he felt his ass burn. He glared at the man as if saying 'What?'._ _ _ _ _

_____"Do you think you could sleep AFTER you satisfied yourself?", Asami asked, leaning closer, "That is not how I play, Takaba."_ _ _ _ _

_____Akihito couldn't really do much when his legs were pulled up and pushed unto him. But he immediately felt mortified when he realized that Asami was actually viewing his butthole, which was obviously displayed clearly before him. With that, Akihito tried to break free once again by pushing his legs, trying to land a single kick towards the sinfully handsome face of his guest._ _ _ _ _

_____Akihito knew that it was hopeless to fight when the hand that held him still by the knees didn't waver at all. Thus, he silently prayed for his own good for what was about to come._ _ _ _ _

_____The blond was obviously tired from his earlier orgasm, and Asami knew that from the very start. He might as well use that fact for his own advantages._ _ _ _ _

_____"Oh look. Your hole is twitching down there.", Asami leaned in closer and found his mouth whispering to the boy's right ear, "It's gapping open, it's inviting 'something' in.."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Sh-Shut up, perv!! Aagh let me.. Go.. Ungh..", Akihito let out whatever energy he had left in his body. The urge to flee was already filling his gut, and he was sure he was ready to-_ _ _ _ _

_____"Ah!", the blond shouted, out of surprise. He looked down once again, and what he saw terrified him more than anything._ _ _ _ _

_____Asami had pushed one of his finger in, through his little tight ring of muscle at the entrance of his hole._ _ _ _ _

_____Akihito groaned out as he tried pushing his legs once again, but once Asami had pulled him into his lap, he knew he was done for._ _ _ _ _

_____"Wh- Why are you doing this?! It's dirty down there.. Let me go!! Fuck!", Akihito yelled, shutting his eyes tight to give the impression that he was dead serious with his statement._ _ _ _ _

_____"It is not.", Asami spoke, "Because I had wipe it clean for you last night."_ _ _ _ _

_____Hearing that, Akihito blushed even more at the picture of him laying lifelessly on the bed with Asami cleaning his insides for him. He shook his head furiously to clear the image off his mind, but thanks for the second finger Asami buried deep along with the first one, Akihito didn't need to use any effort to forget it. In fact, what Asami did at that very moment had helped him more than enough to not think of anything else._ _ _ _ _

_____To only think about what's happening, what's occurring between them._ _ _ _ _

_____"Ungh.. Ya.. Sto- hng!!", the blond moaned, gripping the older man's hair in his hands, whose wrists might had been bruised by now by the friction the red tie caused around them._ _ _ _ _

_____"You're wet. So wet that my fingers could swiftly fingering you, deep down, to the dirtiest part, to the part of you that you yourself cannot touch.", he bit the blond's ear, his hot breath puffing around the earlobe as he dirty-talked him, "And I am the only who can do this to you. Only me."_ _ _ _ _

_____There was a sense of possessiveness lingering under that silk-like voice, dripping like honey from his firm mouth. Akihito somehow could feel it, and he shivered from it._ _ _ _ _

_____But Akihito could not care less as he felt something nudged his sweet spot, buried and hidden deep in his ass, making his vision exploded to a color of pure, pure white. His eyes blown for the umpteenth time, and his mouth gaped open as he screamed all his insides out._ _ _ _ _

_____Asami smirked satisfyingly before pulling his fingers out, and pushed down the waistband of his black pajama pants. He held Akihito by the waist now, and slowly placing his both hands on the boy's hips, lifting it off his lap for a second._ _ _ _ _

_____Still in a dazed, Akihito's body just followed whatever ministrations the other gave him at the moment. He could not comprehend what was about to come, he just knew that Asami was currently lifting his ass - probably moving it again somewhere - but his position didn't change at all, still straddling Asami with his limp legs beside his sides._ _ _ _ _

_____The alarm in his head went off when a sharp pain kicked into his brain, waking up the still dazed off neurons in his senses._ _ _ _ _

_____Something rounded, wide, nudged at his opening, and whatever it was, Akihito knew than better it meant bad news._ _ _ _ _

_____"Don't--! AAAA! Fuck.. Are you cra- ngh! Ry-", Akihito's pained expression was so clear, sketching expressively on his eyebrows._ _ _ _ _

_____"Ssh.. Easy there..", Asami softened the way his hoarse voice spoke, as he supported Akihito by gripping his two buttcheeks, giving him a hand as he rode him._ _ _ _ _

_____Two hazel eyes swelled with tears as the blond looked at him, staring at him with eyebrows furrowed and teeth biting his bottom lip painfully, as he held in the salty tears that were going to fall in any second._ _ _ _ _

_____Something tugged under Asami's chest as the blond spoke out his small voice, barely even a whisper, "Hurts.. Take it out.. Ngh.."_ _ _ _ _

_____And when those wicked tears finally rolled down, Asami ran one of his hands away from the boy's bottom, to his back, soothingly stroking it, drawing imaginary circles on it._ _ _ _ _

_____Akihito felt surprisingly calm by the sudden gentle of act the older one was giving him, and he unconsciously bent low to place his head on Asami's wide chest. It was wide, hairless, rippled with abs which Akihito didn't know how to take care of since his guest evidently didn't go outside all this time (of course, much to his acknowledgement). But whatever it was, he felt calmer and calmer, thanks to the strong, willing thumps of the man's heart._ _ _ _ _

_____As Asami felt the younger one grew relax in his embrace, he silently grabbed his ass once again, and ever so slowly lowered it down so that his penis could go in deeper. Even with the pace of someone so patient, Akihito could still feel the burning pain, the aching feeling of him going to be ripped into two. He screwed his eyes shut and unconsciously circling Asami's neck with his tied hands, in case if he couldn't hold it anymore and he falls._ _ _ _ _

_____Sensing this, Asami gradually laid the blond back onto his comfortable bed, so that he could relax with Asami above him._ _ _ _ _

_____When Akihito felt the mushroom head nudged against that spot inside him once again, he held in a scream as he looked at Asami with his adorable wet eyes. Asami saw that, and he smirked._ _ _ _ _

_____"See? It can go all the way in. You're just too scared of trying."_ _ _ _ _

_____"I-I'm not scared!", Akihito countered back, the fire that had been gone all this time due to the pain he felt had come back, and Asami strangely felt relieved for some reason._ _ _ _ _

_____They stayed still for a moment. Akihito laid there didn't know what the hell he had to do next, and Asami staying there to let the boy adjusted to his size._ _ _ _ _

_____Just as Asami pulled a few inches out his ass, Akihito half-yelled, "W-What are you doing?!"_ _ _ _ _

_____Asami quirked a handsome brow before answering, "I'm going to move, of course."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Wait, wait you cannot do that!", Akihito cried out, "My ass could be fucking ripped apart if you do that! And who knows where can I get an ass replacement!"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Don't worry, you can do it.", the older man growled, eyes glinting with lust and amusement, "The hole is still slick from last night, I'm sure it wouldn't be hurt in no time."_ _ _ _ _

_____Before Akihito could protest, Asami had pulled all of his member out of the boy's gaping hole, before pushing it back furiously to the hilt. Akihito's breath hitched in his throat as he felt Asami's balls hitting his buttcheeks, the 'slap' sounds coming from his bottom told him so too._ _ _ _ _

_____As the blond was about to scream, Asami once again silenced his screamer mouth with his silencer one, muting every groans and shouts that could possibly out._ _ _ _ _

_____Like deja vu indeed; Akihito pleasured moans came back to the stage, lightening up the dark atmosphere moments ago. He clutched the back of Asami's neck tight as he felt his second orgasm coming closer to his groin._ _ _ _ _

_____He never knew that gay sex could feel this.. good._ _ _ _ _

_____With consideration attached, Asami grabbed hold of Akihito's shaft once again, and pumped it right back to life._ _ _ _ _

_____"Ungh.. No.. Ryu.. T-Too.. Much- ahh..", Akihito breathlessly moaned out his struggles, as he felt the same kind of burden built inside his stomach once again._ _ _ _ _

_____Each minutes passed as they mated, and both of them felt their orgasms were coming close. Akihito stayed still beneath him, but he never broke any eye contact with the feline above him. With his hands still around Asami, he yanked the older man's face close to him, and in the meantime, they would kiss, messily that there were drops of saliva everywhere._ _ _ _ _

_____Droplets of sweat came rolling down their temples as they felt it coming fast. The blond got hold of Asami tight, just like a lifeline, and Asami gripped his hips until there were red bruises of his palms._ _ _ _ _

_____"Ryu.. Cumm-ing..!", Akihito moaned out, and bursted out all his seeds once again that day._ _ _ _ _

_____As the blond came for the second time, he reflexively clenched the muscles inside his ass, traping and pressuring Asami's hard cock inside it. Asami shut his eyes tight to feel the glorious moment, that fantastic moment when Akihito just knew how to milk him out, how to milk him empty for good._ _ _ _ _

_____Asami thrust home for several times before letting himself out; filling Akihito's filthy hole with his white, hot semen._ _ _ _ _

_____The blond didn't really care anymore as he felt the sleepiness mixed with tiredness had claimed him, apparently ignoring the drip of fluids that flowed freely down his asshole._____

* * *

 _ _ _ _ _"Nyaaaaa!", Shige mewled pitifully as he scratched the surface of the door leading towards the bedroom with his claws, begging to be let in._ _ _ _ _

_____Like making his wish come true, the tall human that had picked him up back at that rainy day came out from that very room, casually tucked under his black pajama pants. Shige immediately strode towards him and rubbed his cheeks against the fabric of Asami's pants. Seeing that, Asami bent low and knelt, lifting up an index finger to lightly stroke under the cat's smaller jaw._ _ _ _ _

_____"What is it, Shige? Are you hungry?", Asami spoke quietly, considering the other person who slept like dead in the room he just came out from._ _ _ _ _

_____The cat mewled once again before looking him in the eye. Asami didn't know how but somehow, the animal's eyes grew larger in a second._ _ _ _ _

_____He chuckled lightly, "Well, before that, I want to check something first, Shige."_ _ _ _ _

_____Shige looked up once again to know what was up and his curiosity was immediately answered by the sight of silver key in his owner's right hand._ _ _ _ _

_____As the human moved to the left, Shige followed him obediently from behind. Turned out, the man was walking towards that the door, the door which his other owner seemed to lock everyday and restricted anyone to come in from some reason._ _ _ _ _

_____Shige saw his every moves, including the way he flawlessly slid in the key to the keyhole, and twisted it to the right. The cat also heard that distinctive 'click' that signed the door had been unlocked._ _ _ _ _

_____When the door was opened by Asami, what faced them was a dark room, a dark room which lingered that secretive aura, and going in might mean knowing Akihito better than before._ _ _ _ _

_____Shige backed off a little bit but seeing as his owner moved forward confidently, the cat followed him, with an eerie feeling he got as an animal._ _ _ _ _

_____Asami knew that going in meant breaking their promise. Their very first commitment about him living here. That they would not bug each other's business. That what happened in their life meant nothing to each other. But he could not help it. It was the first time someone had ever intrigued him so much with his every moves. The way he was so defensive, so closed, and so secretive about his personal affairs made Asami's blood boils like nothing else. He definitely wanted to know more about his landlord, about the person who gave him a place to sleep and food to eat, without even considering of receiving something back in return._ _ _ _ _

_____From the look on his hazel eyes, Asami knew than better that Akihito helped him because he wanted it. He did it because he wanted to. And Asami wanted to know why he wanted it. That was the reason why he braced himself to go in there, to find anything useful about the boy._ _ _ _ _

_____Even if he knew that he might find some dark sides of his nice, kind-hearted blond boy._ _ _ _ _

_______ _ _ _

__________

* * *

_____ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i struggled so, so much in the lemon part. im not really good at it, but i hope u guys enjoy itXD i just imagined the scenes in my head, so yeah...  
> i do not own the Finder series.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the really looooooong delay:( and i know its annoying that this chapter is going to be shorter than the previous one. im really sorry:( its just that i was just ended my national examination and i still feel the afterglow of it(?) so yeah.. more author's note coming on below!  
> unedited. it would be helpful if u tell me if there's any mistake. thanks!

It was by far the worst morning he’d ever had in his entire, short life. He’d woken up from the worst hangover, the worst soreness, and the worst urge to vomit every minute. Never would he ever get drunk with Kou and Takato if he knew he would face such consequences. And now, he was woken up for the second time, from a brand new kind of pain. Who would ever think that the guest he picked up weeks ago from the rain turned out to be a rapist? And he even did him twice. And the second time they did it, he forced him to go through several painful rounds. Akihito grunted out his pain as he remembered what happened to him that very morning when he just woke up.

And what was worst was the fact that the rapist himself was nowhere in sight. Akihito felt like a woman being ditched out by her lover, but that wouldn’t seem to be the perfect example. After all they were not a lover. They were a landlord and a freeloader, who happened to have sex just because the landlord got drunk and the freeloader used that advantage to the fullest. Reasons? Unknown. _He probably did that just to prank me_ , Akihito thought, walking towards his bathroom as he did so.

He searched for his toothbrush and found out there were two of them, one was his—the white one—and the other one was black. Perhaps Ryu’s.

Akihito didn’t know why but he suddenly felt the urge to smile, just a little bit by seeing the pair of toothbrushes. It almost felt like he wasn’t alone.

_Alone, huh?_ He turned his head towards the mirror and started brushing his teeth eagerly, _well yes I’m alone but I’m okay until now,_ he grumbled under his breath. His movement started slowing down as he observed his one-man bathroom. Everything obviously changed since that Ryu guy stayed here. For example, there was this expensive looking shampoo beside his cheap one, or there was even a hair gel rested on the sink. It was obviously not his; because seriously why would he ever buy that? And there was this big towel, and also that soap. That guy’s stuffs were placed right with his ones. And it didn’t feel weird at all.

He eventually stopped and pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. _So... I’m not really alone anymore, huh?_ He stared up the ceiling, feeling his smile grew wider at that thought. _Seriously, what happened to me? Gaaah!_

After a quick wash on the face, Akihito strode towards the living room, only to find Shige snoring peacefully on the couch. He sighed contentedly before walking towards it and sat beside the cat, eventually patting the soft head of the pet.

Looking blankly at the black screen of the TV, Akihito’s mind started wandering off somewhere again. It was weird, really. Like how his mind would randomly think about Ryu patting Shige’s head, like how it would think about what kind of expression the man wore while acting gentle towards a delicate animal, or while simply looking at the cat sleeping beside him.

He would imagine him looking so gentle, with his handsome features; his perfectly-sculptured jaw, those piercing, burning golden eyes, and that pair of lips that usually curled up into a smirk which Akihito had to admit that he secretly thought it was kind of… cool.

Several shades of red filled his entire face when he realized just what he was thinking about. He put both palms on either sides of his scalps and he shook his head, cursing himself internally as he did so.

The more he tried to forget it, thoughts of Ryu kept on intruding his mind, filling it with more and more memories of what happened between them that morning, and it even tried to dig in the lost memories about the details of last night. His heart pounded faster when he recalled how hot his guest’s touches were, how skillful yet thoughtful his kisses were, and how hot the lust those eyes were showing upon him.

It almost felt like it wasn’t about sex; it forced him to think that Ryu was thinking about more of it when they did it.

He started bending his legs and sat with his hands wrapping around it, starring at his own reflection on the screen.

Akihito had never been interested in things such as sex, so he didn’t know what he should do when he was faced for it for real. He didn’t know what would come next after two people sharing intimate moments with each other. Akihito used to believe that sex only happened between two people in love. He was a really naïve kid in the past, he didn’t know the darker side of the reality he was currently living in. He was blinded by fairy tales, romantic stories, in which you could get a very happy ending, in duration of an hour and a half.

But now that he lived alone, he had seen every shades of human’s life. There was relationship called, ‘sex friends’, where you have sex with your ‘friend’ without any romantic feeling towards that person. And now he also learned that there were a lot of people who would actually have sex with anybody as long as they get money. They gave away their sexes so easy like it was a toy. Akihito realized that it was not always because you’re in love that you can have sex with someone, it could be because of various reasons, and that was why Akihito was scared of it.

People treated love so easy, like they could find it anywhere. Realizing that, Akihito slowly closed the gate to his heart, locked it down with heavy chains and locks, so that nobody could use his heart easily like that. Before he knew it—though—he realized that he had become someone who people would mistake as asexual, didn’t need any partner as long as he had himself. But Akihito wouldn’t mind that, after all he had killed every little pieces of romantic feeling inside him.

He still had friends, of course, but not a lot. His definite friends would be Kou and Takato, and the rest would probably his colleagues and his bosses. Outside that, he didn’t trust people that easily, and such insecurities didn’t bother him the slightest bit.

And now that he was having someone living with him, his determination started crumbling. He knew he had told Ryu to not bug to his business, and that he had stated to not disturb each other’s personal affairs, but now, he had to admit it out loud that he wanted to know more a lot about Ryu. _What is he doing with his life? What caused him to be outside in the rain? What kind of person is he?_ Those questions kept on popping inside his head, and Akihito shivered at the thought that he wanted to know it.

Akihito eventually started regretting the fact that he had helped Ryu on that rainy day, even letting him stay for more than a week now. But what’s done was done, and he had to endure it.

_He wouldn’t stay here forever would he…_

An ache suddenly resonated from his chest, his heart beat more painful than before. Akihito bit his bottom lip. _No, he has to go out soon because if he doesn’t, I’d probably…_

The sound of the door being opened made Akihito jumps on his seat, successfully waking Shige up from his deep slumber. The blond whipped his head towards the front door and there he found a figure of Ryu, who was completely soaked from head to toe.

He reflexively ran to him as he spoke rather loudly, “W-What happened? Why are you so wet?”

“It’s raining out there,”, Asami replied, “Didn’t you hear it?”

“Ah… no…I didn’t…”, he responded, blushing at the thought that he was so airheaded he didn’t even realize that it was raining outside, “Come, I will bring you a towel.”

Akihito grabbed the man’s hand and reflexively pulled him inside the living room, ignoring the puddle of water that started trickling down the man’s attire. But not even seconds later, Akihito pulled his hand harshly out of the man’s grasp, before muttering a sheepish “sorry” and scurried away towards the bathroom.

When he was finally—temporarily—alone, Akihito looked at himself in the mirror and blushed harder at the sight of him getting flustered up just by touching Ryu’s hand. _What am I? A middle-school boy on  his first date?_

Brushing off that thought, he grabbed the nearest towel that dangled on the sink and rushed towards the living room. Asami was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, probably afraid that if he sat down, he would wet the couch.

Approaching him, Akihito spoke, “Where were you? Work? I thought you said you don’t like going outside.”

Asami received the towel and immediately used it against his hair, “Yes. It was urgent.”

“Tch, and you even left before I even woke up. Bastard just leaves.”, Akihito faked a pout, before grinning cheekily towards the man.

“That is your fault, you slept so soundly,”, Asami lifted his chin with one index finger, “Did I fuck you that hard?”

Hearing that question, Akihito’s face colored into a lovely color of red. Embarrassed, he pulled his chin out of the finger and ran his eyes downwards, “Perv.”

Asami only gave him some rich chuckles before walking pass him towards the bedroom. Akihito only watched him as he went, and sighed. _That question really caught me off-guard_ , he thought as he walked towards the kitchenette.

Just as he prepared a pot to cook them a dinner of stew, his bedroom door was threw open once again, revealing Asami in a new suit attire, perfect with his hair gelled backwards. Akihito observed as he strode across the room, his steps were long enough to reach the front door within a minute, and the blond just realized that he seemed to plan on going out again judging by the big bag in his hand and the way he wore his black loafers again.

“Wait…”, Akihito fast-walked towards the door, “Where are you going? You just came back!”

“My work is waiting for me, and,”, he turned to look at the blond that was staring at him in the eye, “It’s possible that I’m not going to stay here anymore.”

Two hazel irises blown wide, but he didn’t let his mouth gap open to complete the expression of a complete idiot. Akihito stood there, staring at the figure in front of him as if he was some kind of an alien. The blond’s mind was suddenly blank, and he suddenly didn’t know how to breathe normally.

Those words slipped out of the man’s mouth so easily, like it meant nothing to him.

His heart ached once again, now more painful than before. He unconsciously clenched his two fists on his sides, same went to his jaw. His heart beat harder, it was as if the feeling of panic washed over him, leaving him petrified.

After several seconds, Akihito finally found his voice back, “Oh… w-why is that?”

Asami of course realized the shock that was painted on the boy’s face. It was so obvious to his observant eye. He shook his head before replying, “It is complicated for me to tell. But, let’s just say, I am finally able to come back home.”

Akihito only nodded wordlessly to that. He didn’t know what to comment on that. And he didn’t know why the fact that Ryu finally decides to leave stoned him, either.

“O-Oh? Is that so? G-Good for you then…”

“Then,”, Asami shot out a hand, initiating a handshake, “I guess it’s goodbye now. I really appreciate your kindness, Takaba – san.”

Akihito looked at the offered hand, before running his eyes towards the man that was talking to him at the moment. He bit his bottom lip anxiously. His hand itched to touch him, but this kind of touch was not the kind of touch he wanted from the man.

Because this touch could be the last touch. This eye-contact, this conversation, this shaking hands, these would probably be the last he sees of Asami. And as much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t want it to be the last.

He shook his head gently. _Isn’t this what you want? Now that this person’s finally gone, you can live your life just like before. You can protect your heart just like before, and you wouldn’t worry yourself being attached to someone._

_It’s okay, Akihito. You can cope up with your life alone._

Akihito sprang out a smile before latching his hand on the man’s one, and shook it briefly, “Yeah. It’s actually a pleasure for me to take care a big, stray cat like you.”

Asami only smirked at that.

As Akihito was about to pull his hand away, the hand that was currently holding his pulled him harshly towards the owner, causing him to tumble down towards Asami, and let him catch him as he fell. His smaller, lithe body fell perfectly onto the bigger, wider body of Asami, and it made him feel comfortable in his arms.

Akihito nuzzled closer towards his guest, actually got addicted to the warmth the man was emitting from his body. He put both hands on his chest as he sighed contentedly, apparently enjoying himself, “Why the fuck did you suddenly pull me in, jerk? Do you miss me or somethin’?”, he boldly asked.

“Or something, “, Asami chuckled, “After all, it seems somebody is going to miss me even harder when I’m finally out of here. So I’m just giving you the last representation of my presence.”, with that saying, he hugged the blond a little tighter than before.

Akihito felt like he was flying, his mind going somewhere up the clouds. He hugged the man back, “Who’s gonna miss you? Stupid.”

Both chuckled at their own meaningless, random conversation before pulling back, staring at each other in the eye. The way Asami stared down at him made him shivers, as if the stare itself could let the man see through him, see everything that was in his mind. And it almost felt unfair to Aki that no matter how hard he tried to read his mind, he couldn’t.

Asami eventually clasped the boy on his chin, before pulling his head closer.

Akihito unconsciously closed his eyes, and soon after, he felt a pair of warm lips touched down on his, making his heart throbbed with each passing moment. His hands slowly made their way towards the man’s lapel, pulling him even closer than before. The longing grew greater as the intensity of the kiss increased. The blond submissively opened his mouth, and let the man invaded it to his heart’s content. Their tongues would meet, and once they met, they would lick each other, coated each other with their own warmth, planting their presences on each other, before pulling back and explored the whole cavern.

A trail of saliva connected both tongues as they pulled away, and Asami could immediately see the flushed face of the boy that he was currently holding.

Asami chuckled, “Now, now, who looks exactly like a cat?”

“W-What?!”, but before Akihito could get a response, Asami lunged forward towards his neck.

He let out a breath when Asami bit softly there, leaving a little bite mark, before licking all over it to make the color of purple bloomed on the humanly pale skin.

Once they were done, both let go of each other, giving some spaces for them both. Akihito watched him as he grabbed his bag once again—that since when had landed on the floor—and turned around to the door.

Asami only glanced a little through his shoulders as he smirked, before walking away through the door.

When the big presence had already gone, Akihito slowly walked back towards the living room, and sat himself on the couch, once again finding himself staring blankly at the TV screen. The reality of what just happened sunk in, and he was suddenly reminded of his situation right now.

He was finally alone.

His eyes started to swell in tears; his chest ached a new kind of agony. His stomach tied the endless knots, and he didn’t know why but he suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

With the pitiful mewl of Shige’s, Akihito curled up on the couch, and oddly, cried. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as i just mentioned earlier, i just finished my examination. therefore, i kinda feel a lil bit airheaded when i start writing the new chapter (since its been so long since the last time i write a chapter). and the worst part of it is that, i suddenly forget all the ability to write beautiful words! and that pains me really:( i need to actually gain back my inspirational mind, or else im afraid i cant continue my other stories soon /cries/ and i also feel intimidated by the way the other authors write better than me, im just being honest here lol;_; /hides in the corner in shame/  
> anyway thats all that hv been preventing me from writing chapters. i hope u guys would still enjoy it...  
> I do not own the Finder Series.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, delay. I know, I know I've been a slow updater these days;_; the thing is, its been too long since the last time I wrote this fict that I almost forget about the storyline, and it actually cause me to get stuck with writer's block;;;_;;; I think its obvious enough because this is such a short chapter /hits myself bcs of my own hopelessness/  
> But hey I'm not abandoning my ficts so don't worry! You just have to cope up my slow updates that's all.  
> Enough with my blabbering-_-p.s: self beta'd.

The sound of the rain as well as the sight of it immediately welcomed him in its cold embrace as soon as he came out of the apartment, the door unsurprisingly locked behind him. For a minute he just stayed there, thinking and wondering if he had done the right thing or not, staring at the droplets of rain as it poured harder on every surfaces uncovered, before pushing himself out of his spot and descended down the stairs to meet the almost empty parking lot. His eyes immediately did a quick scanning on the whole place before he satisfyingly spotted something familiar; a black sedan car with a blond, bulky man in a fitting color of black stood beside it with a transparent, wide umbrella.

Asami sent a knowing nod to his direction and the man immediately set his foot on action, hastily yet steadily rushed to approach him from his current spot. It was either because of the urgency of the rain or his steps were just that wide, but the man eventually reached the foot of the stairs within a minute, evidently holding out the umbrella politely for the man to get under.

"Asami - sama.” the blond gave a slight bow full of respect as he stepped aside to make a way, "Shall we?"

Asami once again nodded before getting under the protection of the umbrella. Now standing side by side, the two walked towards the parking lot which was unsurprisingly deserted, only being filled by one black sedan car, which was also, so out of place compared to the area it was currently parked at.

Both were silent as they neared the car, the sight of it became clearer by the shortened distance. The blond goon politely opened up the backdoor, and Asami reflexively slid in one swift movement, giving the man enough space for him to shut the door beside him. He waited another minute for the man to get to the driver's seat, started the engine, and pulled the car into another journey of the evening.

"It's a pleasure to have you back, Asami - sama.", his voice came out as a low growl, but Asami knew that that was just how his voice sounded; his everlasting, most trustworthy head chief of security.

"And it's also a pleasure to be working with your assistance once again, Suoh.” he greeted back with a smug smirk, already leaning against his seat to seek the comfort he had been missing for weeks. Of course the low couch that had become his territory weeks ago was nothing against the plush seating of his car.

Glancing beside him, he saw the reports that had been stacked tidily into one file that sat beside him. It was most likely prepared before for him to read in the car. He picked it up and put it on his lap, before slowly opening up the file to look at the piles of papers with Times-New-Roman styled reports. Reading it carefully, another satisfied smirk crept up onto Asami's lips.

"I see you all have done a good job on balancing our company's budget while I'm gone.” he voiced out his opinion; voice laced with endless amusement, "And I have also heard from Kirishima about the missing goods. Well done, I should give you each a rise."

Even though Suoh had successfully hidden the sense of pride that swelled inside his chest with his—ever—stoic face, Asami knew that he was happy. After all, he rarely gave his underlings praise, and once he did, that meant they really did a great job.

"It's our duty to do our best performance in our business, Sir.” Suoh replied, still fighting over the urge to smirk, “And we obviously could not do this without your guidance.”

At that, Asami only gave him a set of business chuckle before running his eyes all over the report. Once he sensed that his boss wasn’t in the mood for any more conversation, Suoh immediately stayed silent and turned all his attention towards the road ahead.

Kirishima’s well-organized report was all he read throughout the journey: the half of the total amount of shipments that was already back in their hands, the contracts that were still left unsigned, the latest news about their old and new business partner, and of course, immediate and intellectual update about the ever so-called politician, Yamamoto Saki.

The man had surprisingly played his cards well: tricked him with his weak and defeated backgrounds, sneakily caught him off-guard while silently setting an army of men to hunt him down, and finally, stole his goods while he wasn’t looking. Smart, Asami could say, he even admired the man’s effort a little. But that definitely would die at the end of the story. Asami didn’t plan on going easy on him after this. All he had ever desired at the moment was the look of despair on the man’s face, full of fear and completely down on his mercy, finally learning that defying him was a horrible, terrifying mistake that one shall not do.

The smug smirk he had on his face was defiantly wiped out the moment he realized that something was lacking. Something, that he usually held between his long fingertips whenever he was reading his reports, whenever he was thinking, calculating… pretty much all the time. His mouth twitched in distaste, his throat itched to be burnt. Finally losing against his own addiction, Asami casually opened up the divider between the passenger and driver seats and leaned slightly forward, his eyes looking at the rearview mirror to catch the driver’s attention, “Suoh, you still have my pack of Dunhill’s?”

The blond was obviously caught off-guard just a little, before recomposing his stance as he replied, “Of course sir.”

Within seconds, Suoh grabbed a new pack of the cancer sticks before handing it behind, which Asami gratefully accepted. Silence ensued as the golden-eyed man slowly lifted one cigar and lit it, bringing it to his mouth before inhaling the smoke into his lungs; the smell, the taste, oh how he had missed it.

“I’m sorry sir for interrupting but,” Suoh cleared his throat once, before continuing, “It is odd to see you without one, sir.”

At that, Asami only chuckled, clearly not sounding offended.

For one short moment, Suoh thought that he had been seeing things, probably caused by too much overwork. Because at the second he actually gazed upon his employer’s face, searching for any kind of response towards his statement earlier, he actually saw a slight smile; a rare, gentle smile that stretched below that perfectly sculptured nose—an actual smile. It was only short-lived though, as Asami realized his stare and immediately wiped it off his face.

“The guy that had kindly offered me his place since weeks ago apparently isn’t accustomed to cigarettes, especially Dunhill’s.”, Asami replied, “It would not be so polite to me to smoke, would it?”

Suoh could only nod before turning his attention back to the steering-wheel, leaving Asami alone in his thoughts.

In the midst of the silence that the bodyguard had offered, Asami silently slid his hand into his breast pocket, fishing for something that was hidden in the farthest corner of the square-shaped confinement. Swiftly, the man grabbed a piece of tightly folded white paper and brought it to his view, inspecting it under his heated gaze as if he was trying to melt it with his stare. Slowly, he unfolded the paper, gently, from one fold to the other, until finally, he was revealed to the paper’s full size. Filled with visible lines of folds, he could also see his own writing, a little bit wretched from the rush he probably was in while writing it down.

Reading each word carefully, he could make out most of it. Actually just one glance and he already knew what it was all about.

The text was about his meeting schedule with his business partners, which he remembered correctly was about his illegal business. The shipments, the shady contracts, all of those meetings were listed here, along with the place and time. He remembered these as his upcoming schedules, were yet to be held, and were delayed by Kirishima for his convenience.

But here he was reminded again of the set of meetings, by notes of it, which laid innocently inside one of the shelves in the secret room which he had illegally trespassed when his _landlord_ was asleep, oblivious to his wicked action.

Leaning against his seat, he recalled seeing the notes in the form of post-its, which were stuck on the bottom of the shelves like a reminder. The reason Akihito knew all of his business was beyond him, but the one thing that had disturbed him and urged him to finally go out of the apartment was why Akihito had let him stay with him.

From the look of the room itself it was obviously a studio, a darkroom, which only photographers would have. And seeing these notes, along with some old newspapers only strengthen up the fact that the boy was a photographer, or maybe a crime-journalist.

Asami sighed. Akihito was most likely targeting him right now, and he hated to admit but this was the best way for them, at least for now. It would be best for the boy to never know that the crime lord that he was chasing after was in fact, the stray _cat_ he had naively saved in the rain weeks ago.

* * *

“Shige?” Akihito called out from the front door, which was the way he came from.

The only thing that greeted him back was silence, which was emitting heavily from the living room, pretty much from his apartment floor. Sighing, Akihito strode forward, putting his shopping bags on the kitchen counter as he continued walking, searching for the little furry animal that had been oddly silent since a few days ago, probably missing the only person he played with in Akihito’s absence.

“Shige…”, he continued his calls, while searching high and low for any sigh of tails or mewls, “Shige!”, he started yelling now, the sense of panic suddenly washed over him like a cruel, unmerciful wave.

His heart ached involuntarily as the sight of the pet came into his view. Opening up his arms, the cat slowly walked into his embrace until it was lifted up off the ground, right in Akihito’s warm hold. For a moment they only stayed there, the human holding the cat up while the cat was content and having no intention to resist the hold. But the hold eventually turned unbearable, and the animal could only wriggle out of the arms that were obviously bigger and stronger than him, pleading silently with cat mewls to be let go.

Realizing that, Akihito immediately let go, lowering his stance to gently let the cat fall onto the floor, “Sorry…”, he mumbled softly, unknowingly trying to believe that the cat at least could understand what he meant somehow.

Standing up once again, he strode towards the counter, opening up the shopping bags he had brought in with him. Slowly, he started unpacking it, one by one; until he was suddenly stopped by the sudden sound of Shige’s mewls from below. Looking down, the cat was currently rubbing against his leg now, silently asking for something to eat which Akihito knew instantly the moment those two rounded, glassy eyes had stared back at him. The blond chuckled before crouching once again to rub his hands against the animal’s head, enjoying for a bit moment about how nice the fur felt against his palm.

Smiling gently, he spoke, “Hungry aren’t you? Wait here. I bought you some new snacks.”

As if understanding what he just said, Shige’s eyes followed every movement Akihito made as he worked on his shopping bags again, unpacking more stuffs as the seconds ticked away inside the clock.

“The shop owner said that most cats like this but I’m not pretty sure…” he babbled on, eyes still gluing on the things that were still inside the bag, “I just hope that you’ll like-“

Once the silence seeped in, Shige instinctively lifted up his head, trying to find out just what could possibly cause his owner to suddenly shut up like that. From his animal vision, he could see it all: the eyes that suddenly widened the face that suddenly turned paler, and the lips that suddenly trembled. Confused, the cat could only walk back and forth, circling the two bigger legs to gain his attention. Sadly though, Shige was not noticed.

Akihito was suddenly frozen, rooted to the spot he had been standing on when he took a look on the things that were hidden in the corner of the plastic bag. He obviously didn’t remember buying it, there was no way he could buy it unconsciously, right?

Taking it into his grasp, he brought the things one by one to his view, inspecting the items as if they were some alienated objects; odd things that were not supposed to be there.

The first thing that he registered was the miso paste.

And then the silken tofu, along with some green onions.

The thing that frightened him the most was the fact that not only he had bought it unconsciously; he also had bought them for two-persons servings.

Rummaging some more, he also found something which wasn’t on his shopping list.

A new package of coffee. Black, brewed coffee.

Unwanted feelings and memories came rushing back to him like a train. It hit him hard, right on his mind, reminding him just who those things were bought for. The ‘who’ that was no longer there, the ‘who’ that reasonably left him for good because well, that was the intention all along. The man was only staying for _awhile_ , not _forever_.

The bitter tears suddenly filled his eyes, and the sobs were already preparing themselves inside his throat, ready to open his mouth upon their entrance.

Akihito stumbled backwards and fell to his bottom, biting his tongue and desperately tried to hold in his cries. No, he had had enough days of crying over the loss, he was not going through it again.

He knew that it was wrong to drop his stance for once, to actually letting someone for the first time to invade his space. He knew that it was wrong to let the man do anything he wants, including to change Akihito into the way he was right now.

It was only a few days since he was gone and Akihito was already washed over that feeling, that irritating feeling. What was that called? Ah…

_Longing._

He actually longed for Ryu to actually come back inside his apartment and seat himself back on his low couch, watching news and playing laptops like he was born just for it.

He actually longed for Ryu to play with Shige while he was gone, to help him in the kitchen and to taste his cooking, to tell him how delicious it was even though the food was instant-made.

He actually longed for Ryu to wait for him at home, to ask him how his day, and to talk to him about random things in life.

And lastly, he actually—desperately—longed for the man to take his hand and hold him, close to his own body and to his own warmth. He wanted those hands to never let him go, to let him sleep with them around his waist, securing them together.

And now that all of those possibilities were gone, Akihito eventually felt sick towards his own home.

The couch, the TV, the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen—everything. Everything just brought him the most unwanted memories. The memories that shouldn’t be of any matter to him, but they do.

“Fuck,” Akihito cursed under his breath, “I could not get him out of my mind.” 

* * *

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back with this story... YEAY!  
> I'm sorry (as always, because I'm just a sinner who does wrong things such as hanging you guys with my stories for so long /bows/) because of the slow update and even shorter ones than before! Just warning you though that this chapter is going to be short, but I just have to cut it there to not spoil the original plot I have in my mind:3  
> I truly appreciate all the supports I get from you, you don't know how much I love you all:") you guys have literally given me the strength to write more chapters (I know it sounds cheesy but just bear with it lmao)!  
> Okay, no more nonsense blabbering...  
> Self-beta'd.

It was a little bit after eleven when Akihito finally made up his mind. He had locked all the doors, securing his cameras and important data inside his laptop, before going back and fro around his little apartment to find the things he thought he should bring along with him to stay the night, at Takato's.

At first he had hesitated, but then the urge of leaving his home pushed him to dial his best friend's number. He actually felt guiltier than he had hoped for, for he knew that Takato wasn't alone now; he had had his own small family with a fine brunette woman as his partner of life. But when his friend's convincing words along with another encouraging woman's voice in the background had replied to his anxious one, Akihito could only smile at them before deciding it was best for him after all to go there, leaving his lonely home for the first time in his entire life to actually spend the night with someone else.

As he shoved his spare clothes into the inside of his backpack, Akihito took a glance of the room and the things that surround him, a tinge of pain suddenly and painfully stabbed into the inner side of his heart, making his stomach churned in an uncomfortable way as his mouth pulled into a deep frown. It was suffocating; the way his own apartment looked to him now. Now he saw his home differently, like, having the man's presence for barely a month could change everything. His own home pained him with all the memories, with all the conversations and random banters between two persons that had occurred there. It pained Akihito the more he saw it, so he decided to leave it for now.

 _Everything would be alright_ , he thought, _tomorrow I will be fine. Tomorrow I will go back to be the way I was and everything will go back to the way it was._

With that determination hung on the roof of his mind, Akihito zipped his bag altogether, and with one swift motion hopped it up on his back, wearing it with ease as he walked out of his bedroom and locked it. A familiar kitty purr was heard from the couch and Akihito immediately knew who it was, knowing too well of the fact that it was only the two of them living there.

With his long strides, Akihito reached the living room within seconds and was finally faced with his pet lazing on the couch, his eyes dropped and his face looked kind of sour; probably in a bad mood or bored. The blond sighed before pulling the cat into his hold, his hands rested firmly under the cat's armpits as he picked him up from the couch. For a minute he just stood there, observing the white furry animal as it yawned, his little teeth gracing adorably as it peeked through the lines of its small mouth. He shook the smaller body in his hands and Shige looked a little bit shaken up, his eyes widened in temporary shock from the sudden shake he got from its owner.

Akihito chuckled, before finally speaking, breaking the silence that wasn't really awkward for him, "Now, Shig, we are going to another human's house now. You could be a good kitty and don't cause havoc there, couldn't you?” he stopped for awhile, smiling warmly, while running his eyes upwards as if thinking, and “It's only a fifteen-minute walk from here though... Should I just carry you all the way or should I just let you walk by yourself? No. It's still a little too cold in this kind of season. It's probably best to just carry you. It's safer, and warmer in my hold don't you think?", he was basically muttering to himself at this point as he went to his room once again to retrieve one of his jackets, the one that looked warm enough as far as the eye could see.

Shige was immediately hauled into the warmth of the jacket the moment Akihito came out of his room, the things he needed were perfectly packed inside his backpack which was carried on his back. For a minute Akihito re-checked everything, afraid that something could be amiss and gone wrong while he was away. After turning the last lights off, the blond strode towards the front door, exited, and locked the door swiftly with one hand.

He took a last glance towards the door before sighing and took off running towards the busy street.

 

* * *

 

 "Yo, Aki! It's been so long!"

That greeting is the first thing that welcomed him after the door was finally opened for him before a friendly hug came next, securing his body up against the warmth of his friend's slightly bigger body. Akihito let out a sigh of relief before finally replying the hug with his own, his lips were slowly turned into a smile that stretched from ear to ear as he relished in the pleasant feeling of warmth that was blooming inside his chest. For the first time in these past few days, he felt at home, like he finally belonged somewhere, even though he knew it wouldn't last that long.

After a minute of comfortable silence had passed between them, Takato let go of him as his eyes ran down to observe him, "Look at you! Man... You sure look skinnier than the last time I saw you!"

"Shut up. Don't sound like my mom!” he spat out, not even bothering to hold in his chuckles.

The sudden footsteps that echoed from the inside of the house jolted both figures, making them reflexively whipped their eyes towards the source. A figure of a brunette woman greeted them as she came into the light, revealing her in her nightgown that was covered in pink, curly apron. A sweet smile was immediately formed below her nose as she noticed her guest, reflexively standing beside her husband to greet the blond.

"Aki - chan,” she called, her eyes fluttering close as her smile widened, "It's good to see you! Now, now, why don't we invite him in first?"

As if on command, Takato automatically stepped aside to make some way, allowing the photographer to come in. Akihito gladly took the offer and strode inside, hugging the bundle inside his hold as he took off his sneakers at the genkan and changed into a pair of house slippers.

"What is that?” a female voice asked from behind him, obviously referring to the thing he held inside his hands.

"Oh... This?” at that, Akihito slowly opened up the bundle, revealing a white furry animal with two pointed ears, seemingly asleep at its current calm state, "This is my cat. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not!! Aww, it’s so adorable!” the woman cheered, bending her body a little bit as she took a closer look towards the creature that was silently snoring in its sleep.

Takato soon joined in the group, fawning over the cuteness of the cat which they later known as Shige, as Akihito mentioned in the middle of their conversation in the living room. They later put the sleeping pet inside the guest bedroom, where Akihito would be sleeping through the night.

It was a little past 2 when Kaede finally excused herself to the bedroom, obviously tired and sleepy from the rough day she had that day, automatically leaving the two men alone in the living room with the hush voices from the television.

As soon as the bedroom door finally shut with an audible click, Takato leaned forward in his seat, both elbows rested firmly on his knees as his knuckles supported his jaw, "So... Aki, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?” Akihito, clearly surprised by the sudden question that was thrown at him, only straightened up his sitting position to look at his friend's serious face, "There is nothing going on."

"Oh come on, man. I and Kou have known you for forever. You would never leave your apartment if it isn't urgent. So, what's going on?” the black-haired guy pressed on, eyes glinting with suspiciousness.

Seeing the hard expression on him, Akihito could only sigh, and finally gave into his own emotion's need to actually talk out his problems, "I don't know... It's... It's complicated..."

"Since when did your life become so simple?", Takato quickly quipped, the sarcasm clearly dripped out of his voice, "You've been pulling pranks at the local policemen since in Junior High and you don't even feel sorry for it. You actually became the most annoying guy in this neighborhood, how can your life be so simple?” he actually let out a laugh, "But then, I and Kou would always be there for you, wouldn't we?"

Akihito just stared at him as he continued, "You know what? It always worried us of how introvert you have become nowadays. So if you could just do us a favor and tell us everything, that would be the greatest relief, man."

It always amazed him at how his friends could actually be this patient with him. They had caused them great trouble in his juvenile days, but here they were, still standing beside him and supported him even in his rough days. It amazed him how quickly people around him changed yet they didn't, and he was awfully grateful for that, being surrounded by this kind of people had always been his wish since he lived his short life.

With a smile, Akihito finally let go all of his self-restraint, pushing himself to finally opening his mouth to speak the truth, "One day I... I met this guy in the rain. He was just sitting there in an alley beside my apartment building. At first I tried to ignore him but... Well, I brought him into my apartment in the end.", seeing that Takato was still listening, he continued, "To cut the long story short, he actually lived together with me for some quiet time, saying that he had some circumstances at home that prevents him from coming back..."

"Wow, you actually let someone else beside us lived in your apartment? Must be tough, huh?” the other person commented.

"It is!” Akihito replied, suddenly glaring at his direction, "He's a self-centered bastard! A jerk, a pervert, and he smoke! Geez... I'm still afraid he hides one of his cigarette packs somewhere..."

"Oh, he smokes?", at that, Takato's eyes widened, "Maybe that's why we smelled the Dunhill's inside your apartment the last time we took you home when you were deadly drunk."

Akihito only rolled his eyes, "Right...” he took a moment to sip his drink before continuing, "But then... This guy suddenly left... Like 4 days ago? 5? A week? I don't remember exactly but it felt like years since he had gone out..."

"Hey... It's good then!” Takato instantly relaxed in his seat, "You aren't really used to having someone living with you so what's the problem?"

At that, Akihito fell into a wave of silence, suddenly speechless and unsure of what to say. He had to admit Takato really did have a point there. What got him so worked up when he finally have to be alone again? Why did the thought of the man leaving bother him that much? He bit his lower lip and tried to rethink of his action, unconsciously clutching at his knuckles so hard it might leave marks.

Seeing the sudden tension that was invisibly surround his friend's stance, Takato leaned forward once again, trying to form any convincing words to relax those tensed muscles, "Yo! Don't think too much into it! Maybe you're just not used to it. Just spend some more time with us and I assure you, you will be fine again! Alright?"

Akihito glanced back at his friend; friendly concern was obviously drawn all over his feature. He showed a weak smile, before nodding, agreeing at that point, "Maybe a good night sleep will help me clear up my mind."

 

* * *

 

 

It was nearly 3 in the morning when a black sedan reached the underground parking lot, arriving after an exhausting journey of midnight traffic in the heart of Shinjuku. The ever so loyal secretary Kirishima reflexively stepped out of the car first before respectively going to the passenger’s door, opening it for the black-haired man that was his boss. A loafer shoe immediately stepped on the concrete floor, followed by a whole figure of a man in his million dollar suit.

For a few seconds, Asami just stood there, observing his surroundings, taking every bits of the empty parking lot that stored his cars. The familiar smell, along with the familiar sights of a part of his home entered his senses, recording themselves to the back of his mind as they were somewhat forgotten by him because of a period of absence.

Letting out a satisfied breath, Asami started walking towards the elevator with his secretary tailing him, apparently still gluing his eyes onto the shining monitor of his phone as he read some upcoming reports for his boss to look at the next day. An enjoyable jazz song was the only thing that accompanied them as they rode the metal cube, up and up they went to the most top floor. It was less than 10 minutes later when the distinctive sound of 'ding' cued them to go out of it.

A long corridor with nothing but a single door at the end of it was the site that welcomed him the moment he stepped out of the elevator. The rich features of the place was still crystal clear in his memory; the red, maroon carpet that layered the shining tiled flooring, the several strong pillars that held the high ceiling, and also the small lightings that were set on each corners; dim, but the way was still clear. With long, confident strides, Asami seized his distance towards the black door, the door that obviously was a way to his penthouse. Upon reaching the door, he reflexively pulled his special card out of his pocket, before sliding it swiftly and subsequently waited for the machine to recognize him, the long-lost owner.

After a few seconds of identifying, the door finally gave away, giving easy and free access to the key card holder. The golden-eyed man immediately dropped his palm onto the door handle, and slightly twisted it, opening the door in anticipation that had built since he had arrived back to his own safe circle.

The sight of his penthouse was immediately refreshed in his brain when the door was finally ripped opened. His chest swelled with a great amount of relief as he realized that nothing had changed, since the last time he entered the establishment.

Seeing his boss' reaction, Kirishima politely cleared his throat--as to re-announce his presence--before speaking his voice aloud, "I hope you have a pleasant night, Asami - sama.", and as if sensing that his boss' attention was finally on him, he bent his body into a bow, obviously filled with full respect the man felt for the powerful man in front of him that he had served for many years now.

Asami only curled his lips into a smirk, before turning his back against the bespectacled man and responded, "It has been awhile, hasn't it Kirishima? Even I have to admit I had a bit of homesickness while I was away."

"It sure is, sir.", Kirishima replied, pulling his body into a perfect stance as he pushed his glasses back to its respectful place on the bridge of his nose, "We are also very honored to finally have you back, sir. Please rest well."

At that, Kirishima bowed one more time before finally going around, descended with the elevator down to his floor to retire for the night. Asami only spared a single glance towards his back before finally entering the penthouse, the door automatically locked itself the moment it latched back onto its frame.

Finally left alone, Asami let out a sigh before easing the tightness in the knot of his tie, along with taking off his vest and suit jacket afterwards. He also took the time to change his shoes into a pair of house slippers, which Kirishima apparently had diligently prepared for him long before he arrived. _A mother hen no matter what day and age_ , Asami silently snorted, before descending even further to his own establishment.

Asami was personally surprised to find his penthouse untouched, despite the havoc that was currently happening within his largest company, Sion. Not that he was saying that he had expected that to happen, anyway, especially coming from that cowardice politician, Yamamoto Saki.

For the first time since he had been living there, he suddenly felt his home bigger than before; the high ceiling, the expensive flooring, the warm mat beneath his feet, the dim lights around the room, and the occasional corridors that were located on some areas in the penthouse. Everything just suddenly turned richer, more extravagant than he had looked at them years before when he first bought the housing. Not that he didn’t like it, but he was probably still under the effect of living under a super-ordinary looking apartment (compared to his penthouse of course) with a certain kind of blond for weeks.

Weeks… and it had been almost a week since he had left that worn-out apartment.

With a sigh, Asami walked in further, doing the things he did on a daily basis every time he got home from a long day at work. It wasn’t that long though until he found himself standing in the hallway, feeling refreshed after a shower he took at an exact three-thirty in the morning. He let out a yawn as he made his way towards the living room, suddenly feeling the urge to sleep on the couch instead of the king-sized bed whose mattress had been cold for being neglected for so long.

In his arms, he held the large, warm blanket as he strode towards the long-couch, eventually getting himself seated at one spot he usually liked to sit on. Giving away to the tiredness that slowly ate his consciousness away, Asami decided to lie down, covering his topless torso with the blanket as he tilted his face upwards, facing the darkened ceiling. It was against his own judgment when suddenly his mind drifted off somewhere, far from his own place as he slowly gave in to the mighty power of sleep.

Oh, it was also against his will when suddenly, a soft, familiar voice rang inside his head.

_“Oh my God! What are you doing here?”_

_“Would you like to come to my house?”_

_“Okay, let’s start with this. My name is Takaba Akihito. What’s yours?”_

_Ah, that voice_. It was still so vague in his mind, like yesterday’s melody. There was something about that guy that was so memorable. Maybe it was his scent, maybe it was his voice, or maybe it was just his whole presence, Asami couldn’t honestly pinpoint what. But just by smelling the sound of rain, enjoying the taste of black brewed coffee, or seeing the artistic rips of a pair of blue, stonewashed jeans, the golden-eyed man could practically imagine Akihito standing near him, with his striking blond hair, mesmerizing hazel eyes, and bright, bright smile that had successfully saved him somehow.

At one point, Asami had this thought that he didn’t really care of who they were, what kind of job they did for a living, or whatever those basic society circumstances were. At one point, Asami only thought of what mattered between them, and that was _them_ ; the two of them.

With that calming thought hanging on the roof of his almost unconscious mind, Asami finally let himself being dragged to slumber fully, unknowingly feeling a sense of calmness resided silently deep in his long, restless heart.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will spoil you this one: the conflict starts in the next chapter! (I think... if it goes as planned of course lmao)  
> I do not own the Finder Series.  
> Comments, critics, and kudosXD are welcomed!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay an update;u; I feel so proud of myself no kidding!  
> Warning: self-beta'd. Most-likely crappy, because I have never written scenes like these... /runs away/

"So, you two are going?” Takato asked, while still focusing on his work in front of the bright monitor of his computer.

Kaede walked back and fro behind him, as she diligently refilled his now empty cup of coffee, "Yup. Aki - chan said he wants to see Kou for a check-up, while I need to buy some groceries. You're okay by yourself right?” she spoke, softening her voice as she leaned towards him while circling her hands around him, practically hugging him from behind.

"What are you saying? I'm not a kid geez... You can take all the time you want and I will still stay here guarding the house like the good husband I am.", totally contrasted to the sulky voice he used against her, he slowly tilted his head upwards to meet hers, and leaning against the gentle hold she had on him.

Seeing the reaction her husband gave her, she only smiled before slowly drawing imaginary circles on the man's chest, silently soothing his tiredness and distress away, "Is it hard, honey?"

"Quiet a bit.” Takato scoffed as he slowly closed his eyes to enjoy the caress his wife implanted on him, "That old fart has casually told me to give the reports to him due two days. He acts all high and mighty just because he's the boss! Tch."

"Now, now, lay down your curses.” at that, Kaede pulled back, eventually placing her hand onto her own stomach, "What do you think would happen if our little baby boy here heard what you are saying, hm? I don't want my handsome child learning those words from you, Takato."

"It's not like he is there yet.” after that, Takato only chuckled, before leaning against his seat to continue his neglected paperwork on his desk.

Just as Kaede was about to comment, a familiar voice called her name from the kitchen, who she later recognized as the voice of their guest. Picking up the dirty dishes away from the office, she immediately made her way towards the kitchen with ease, where Akihito was waiting for her obediently while eating his sandwich.

"You're ready to go?” the blond asked as he shoved the last bit of the bread, chewing it later as he waited for an answer.

The brunette spared him a smile as she nodded, "Just a minute. Gotta put this inside the dishwasher and grab my poach.", at that, the woman hurried herself to do what she ought to do, momentarily leaving the blond once again she did her own business.

It didn't take long until Kaede re-emerged, this time from her bedroom. The woman had apparently put on her brown coat, which looked kind of comfortable and warm for the chilling weather outside, and in her hands, she held a pair of dark-brown ankle boots, totally prepared for going outside. Compared to her clothing, Akihito could only manage wearing his ordinary navy-hoodie, along with his pair of black stonewashed jeans, and his white dirty sneakers that he wore last night. That was understandable though, after all she was a married woman, who finally had her own standards not only in fashion but also other things, while he was still a single, probably asexual man.

After giving a mild pat on Shige's head, Akihito wore his shoes and finally stepped outside, politely stepping aside to give a way for the woman to lock the door. The two walked down the streets with the same rhythm, matching the other's next foot for a step. It wasn't that long till they reached the main streets, where the sights of cars honking, people crossing the streets, and high school students walking home met their view. Without wasting their time, Akihito immediately led the way to their first destination, which was Kou's family hospital.

 

* * *

 

"I see you have taken quiet a good care of your wound. I'm impressed!” Kou cheered while he eyed the old gunshot wound that rested on Aki's left shoulder. It left a scar, but it healed pretty good and quickly, even better than he had expected when he first saw it. Akihito could only snort sarcastically, but still couldn't hold in the sense of pride that he felt swelling beneath his chest.

"Geez, as I said you don't have to worry. I could take care of any wound! You're just the same as Takato.” at that, he rolled his eyes, "But seriously. This wound would start itching at any minute by now, and I can't take it! I can barely have any sleep last night."

"That's pretty normal, Aki.” Kou spoke, suddenly reading some kind of report which Akihito didn't know where it suddenly came out from, "The itch means you're doing pretty good. It itches because it's trying to cover up the cut, which is good, okay? I will give you some ointments later to ease it."

"Oh wow, thanks, _doc_. I mean, Kou.” he smirked.

"Why are you saying it like that?” Kou let out a laugh, "It is as if you're making fun of me."

"Well, who would expect that you could become a doctor like this?” Akihito replied, whilst pulling his t-shirt back on, "I still couldn't believe it, Kou. No offence."

"No, you're right. It surprises me as well. Who would ever think that I could continue my family's business like this? I could even barely make an A in junior high school, geez."

"But you did it. Look at you!” Akihito cheered, "Now, now the only thing that you're lacking of now is a _girl_. Come on, what could a man do without a woman?"

"You're not the one to talk, baka.” at that, the doctor snorted as he wrote down the receipt, “Talking about woman, how’s Kaede? Any sign of a new nephew for us to take care of?”

“I don’t know,” Akihito shrugged, before leaning against his seat as he sighed, “I overheard them talking earlier in this house, and according what I just heard, there doesn’t seem to be any.”

“Well, only time could tell. That idiot Takato has been waiting for a baby himself for months.” Kou ripped the paper and handed it to Akihito as he spoke, “Here”

 

* * *

 

When Akihito had finally gotten all of his business done in the hospital, he found Kaede waiting for him outside, both hands clasped against her tights as she tilted her head upwards, as if thinking about something. But the moment she heard another footsteps coming over to her, she immediately ripped his eyes away from the sky, onto the blond that she had been waiting for. Her eyes lit up as she threw him a smile, before bringing up a hand to wave along.

“How was it?” she asked nonchalantly, but still filled with a little curiosity.

“It isn’t something bad, thankfully,” he chose to speak, because Kaede apparently was fully oblivious to the fact that he had been shot, “So, did you wait long? What were you doing, anyway?” he continued.

Kaede was immediately dumbfounded when the question was thrown at her. She unconsciously bit her lips; like she wasn’t unsure herself about what to answer, but that only lasted for a few seconds before she finally caught up to Akihito’s long strides as she responded with a simple “nothing”.

Akihito was admittedly caught off-guard by the answer, which came along with a little higher pitched voice that somehow told him that it wasn’t _nothing_ at all, it could be _something_. But, respecting her voice, he chose to stay silent and continued to lead the way to buy some groceries at the nearest supermarket in the area.

It was an enjoyable walk to be honest, with the sun still high above their heads and the chattering of the mass of people surrounded them. Akihito himself enjoyed walking through the busy streets of Tokyo since he was little. No, it wasn’t because he didn’t have any single coin to afford going on with a cab, but he just thoroughly enjoyed the session of walking. It worked on his legs muscles, and he honestly liked it when he was sweating. And besides that, he could also enjoy the sceneries around them, taking pictures of what was usually unseen and uncared by the world, and took the time in his apartment later to enjoy it later longer through his viewfinder. Well, you could not help but admit that Tokyo is a beautiful city, could you? Especially with its skyscrapers; the tall buildings whose heights could somehow reach the skies, the clouds. The place that Akihito had grown accustomed to since he was working in this crime-journalist/photographer industry.  From up there, he could see everyone, walking and bustling around just below him.

_I wonder if I could see him, too._

He was immediately jerked out from his own musing when a hand suddenly grabbed his, dragging his body into a double automatic glass doors of a familiar 24/7 supermarket. Akihito soon then learnt that the hand was actually belonged to Kaede, who immediately pulled him in the moment she saw a high discount on the meat section. Akihito swore he saw a predatory glint in her eyes for a second…

“What are you spacing out for? Please help me find these things!”, at that, the woman handed him a paper of groceries list, and before waiting for any kind of response, she just took off… right to the bunch of women who were currently fighting tooth and nail for a single, expensive-looking beef with a decent price. The blond just let out a chuckle before grabbing a basket, and then off he went to his own journey inside the market.

Akihito was actually a straight-forward customer, meaning, he bought everything that he actually needed, and ignored the rest. But when he came to the beverage section, he could not help but stayed there for a little bit, before grabbing a can of black, brewed coffee… weird, of course. But he couldn’t help it. He let out a sigh before putting it back, and then continued his walk throughout the store to find the rest of the groceries.

It didn’t take long for them to actually reach the cashier, with Kaede grinning in victory as she held the package of beef mightily.

“You actually won against those fat ladies? Amazing.” Akihito complimented sarcastically as they walked out the store.

“It’s easy! They are just big in size. I could even snatch it away from them easily!” she cheered back.

Akihito immediately felt that something was absolutely wrong when the brunette just abruptly fell silent again, eyes pulled downcast and he could vividly feel her body tensing beside him. Clearing his throat, he dared himself to open up another conversation, “Um, Kaede – san?”

As the woman tilted her head to face him, he let himself blurted out the question that had been nagging him since their walk from the hospital, “Is something wrong?”

He absolutely had hit the nail on the head when the woman stayed silent, didn’t mutter any answer but Akihito knew for sure that her silent behavior meant wrong. “What’s wrong?” he asked, finally softening his voice as concern filled his whole brain.

The blond was obviously surprised when the woman suddenly lifted her eyes to meet his. She actually glared, hard, and a frown was slowly pulled on her lips.

“I’m pregnant.”

Her voice came out softer than she had expected, and she even had this moment of panic where she wondered if the blond hadn’t heard her enough but no; Akihito heard it, very perfectly. The concern that was inside his hazel eyes was immediately replaced with excitement as he looked at her, his lips curled up into a toothy smile, “Really?!”

“Yes…” she answered, a little bit hesitantly.

“Then, why haven’t you told Takato yet? He seems pretty oblivious about it to me…”

“I’m just…” she paused for a moment, re-thinking about the choice of words she was going to use, “I don’t want to burden him any further. He has been getting busier this month, and knowing him, he would probably work even harder for me… I’m afraid he would wear himself out…”

At that, Akihito only spared him a softened grin as he responded, “He is your husband, right? That is pretty normal!”

As the girl just stayed silent beside him, he continued, “Who do you think he is? I’m sure he wouldn’t get tired just by filling his role as a husband, and a father,” he let out a chuckle, “And you probably have to introduce the baby soon. That idiot has always wanted a family. Just imagine how euphoric he would become when he hears the news!”

As if his words were a spell, the woman that was a little bit behind him broke into a wide smile; the red, healthy color immediately came back on her cheeks. She then started catching up to the blond as she spoke, “I will!”

“When?” Akihito asked, responding with so much enthusiasm towards the topic.

“As soon as possible…” she titled her head upwards and thought again. Akihito could practically see the imaginary light bulb popping above her head as she continued cheerfully, “As soon as we reach home!”

 

* * *

 

The journey felt shorter than usual, thanks to a certain topic that they talked about all the way to the house. It didn’t feel like 15 minutes had passed by when they finally reached the house, all smiles and laughs at the imaginations Kaede talked about aloud to Akihito, thanks to her overwhelming happiness of finally finding the courage to tell her husband about the marvelous news.

Akihito waited behind as the woman fished for her keys, effectively sliding it in the keyhole the moment she got it out of her pocket. The blond didn’t really pay attention towards Kaede, until he heard a slight gasp escaped her mouth. Immediately turning his head towards the sound, Akihito asked, worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

“No… it’s just…” Kaede paused a little, her eyes focusing on the keys that were set on the keyhole as she wondered aloud, “…weird. I mean, whenever Takato is home alone, he would always lock the house because he couldn’t really pay any attention for visitors when he works. But… the door… it’s…”, before she could finish her words, Akihito gently pushed her aside and tested the door out. True to his thought, the door was unlocked.

“Maybe he just forgets about locking the door when we go out. Takato is a little bit clumsy, don’t worry!”, Akihito assured her, but doubted what he was saying as well because of his intuition that started to kick in, saying bad assumptions and possibilities over and over again in his brain.

He strengthened up his mental. Akihito couldn’t possibly look weak in this kind of situation, not to mention having a woman behind him.

As he lifted up his gaze to look at Kaede, all he could see was a pure worry and horror drawn all over her face. Her mouth was pulled into a deep frown, and he could see some droplets of sweat started forming on her forehead, probably out of frustration that seemingly ate her positive thoughts away. Gulping down the sudden lump in his throat, Akihito steeled his stance, before slowly opening up the door wider for better vision.

His hazel eyes immediately widened at the site that was served in front of him. Everything was set amiss. There were some shattered glasses on the floor, and some small plants in the pots that were put as decorations were seen lying abstractly on the places where it didn’t belong to. The place looked like it just hit an impact or something. Another gasp silently escaped the lady behind him, and Akihito immediately stepped back to catch her body, which wobbly fell down because of her suddenly weakened knees. Her brown irises blown wide, but it defiantly swelled with tears the moment she successfully registered the view of her house.

“Wh… what’s- what’s happening here…?”, she finally spoke out of silence, her voice came out shaky and a little bit strained from the wail that had built inside her throat.

Akihito went down on his knees to reach her eye-level, “Kaede – san, wait here.” she simply ordered, before going back to his feet and started wandering the place.

Indeed, it looked like someone or something had broken in. Akihito tried to not believe what he saw but he couldn’t help it. Panic started to kick in as he made his way towards his friend’s office, whose door was widely opened from the living room’s view. He carefully avoided the pieces of glasses as he ran to the room, his heart started pounding painfully beneath his chest. He almost screamed all his voice out the moment he found no one inside, but some droplets of blood that covered the floor around the office chair in the middle of the small room.

The blond immediately bit his lips to bite back the shriek and slowly backed down; his knees started shaking for the horrific view that was set upon him. Silently, he started searching all over the place, hoping to find at least an evidence of the incident that could probably be a clue to find out what just happened.

Through his a little blurry vision, Akihito made out a sight of a black phone, which he recognized as Takato’s. Shakily, he shot his hand to reach out, and when he finally did, he reflexively started to press any button to light it up.

“Kaede – san,” he called, and as soon as the brunette’s attention was finally on him, he continued, “Do you have any relative around this area? I want you to get away from this place for awh-“

The pair of hands that suddenly shot out of nowhere and grabbed him on his collar stopped him abruptly from speaking, and his eyes immediately tried to re-focus on who his offender was. Turned out it was Kaede, all eyes glared, shooting daggers towards his way as she clenched her teeth in visible fury.

“Why… Why do I have to get away?! It’s not like it’s dangerous around here!”, at that point, she finally let her tears flowed, “And Takato… Takato-he… he’s alright isn’t he?!”

Akihito suddenly felt the disability to answer her when she just suddenly let go of her collar, letting his body fell onto the floor like a ragged-doll. It was against his will to let Kaede saw the office, but damn, he just couldn’t lift a finger at the moment; shock was still ringing throughout his body.

A high-pitched shriek was enough as a wake-up call for him as he immediately stood up, half-running towards the source as the emergency alarm inside his head went off fully. He caught Kaede as she fell, her eyes were red and terribly puffy from the enormous amount of tears she let out at the moment.

Amidst her wails and cries, Akihito carried her towards the sofa, and immediately placed her onto one of the seating which was still fine and unstained of… shattered glasses or any kind of dangerous stuff that could cut her delicate skin. Kaede cried her eyes off, muttering incoherent words as she grasped her scalps to calm down his pounding head, all blood rushed to her brain made her face red from the overheat. The blond knelt beside her, still unsure of what to do.

“Kaede – san… I know this is difficult but…” Akihito hesitated for a moment, but decided to continue as he thought that that was the best for them, “Please… I want you to get away right now. I will take care of this, and I will find definitely find Takato-“

“What can you do, Aki?!” she yelled, her frustrations started blowing her minds off, “There isn’t even a single witness! And the neighbors seem to be completely oblivious to the situation!”

“We can call the police! Everything will be fin-“

“And what could we report in?! Finding the house in chaos the moment we came back from shopping?!”

“No.”, Akihito deadpanned, silently steeling his hold around the device in his hand, “I will manage it. Just trust me.”, at that, he stood up, handing the woman his own phone as he spoke, “Call your family. You need a shelter for the nights.”

“Aki-chan…” her voice started trailing off before she finally threw her weight on him, silently asking for a shoulder to lean on. And Akihito gladly offered it to her, soothing her cries away with his calming pats of palm on her back.

  

* * *

 

 

Kaede was immediately picked up by her father around one hour later, with Shige held in her hands.

The blond had simply told her to protect it, saying that he would get back to get the cat back with Takato by his side to return to her side. It was an odd way to promise something, but that at least work as her expression relaxed a bit, her eyes shining the trust he placed on him.

Akihito watched the car as it drove away, bringing the girl away from the area just like what he wanted her to. The blond was pretty sure that whatever happened in the house wasn’t a mere break in. Takato seemed to fight for himself as well, thrashing all around the house as the criminals most probably restrained him, doing whatever errands they intended to do. And from his point of view, it didn’t look like a robbery as well. Because as much as the house was turned upside down by the possible criminals, there wasn’t a single thing that disappeared, or so he thought by a single glance. And from those conclusions, he simply didn’t want to get Kaede anymore involved in this case. Besides the major point that she was currently bearing a child that was probably no more than two months inside her belly, she was his best friend’s wife, who Takato loved more than his own life. No, Akihito would protect her, until he found Takato and gets him back to that job of protecting her in their future small family. He would definitely find him, he was sure of it.

A realization suddenly hit him hard in the head when he suddenly remembered about Takato’s phone that he picked up earlier in the house. He once again lit it back up, his hazel eyes immediately narrowed at the sticky notes that were put as the phone’s wallpaper.

_T.A,_

_Tomorrow. 11PM. XXXX Harbor._

Akihito clenched at the invitation that was referred to him. _T.A_. Whoever left that note was obviously searching for him.

But he didn’t like it, didn’t like their method on finding him.

The photographer was used to this kind of situation. Being chased down, almost got kidnapped, and the list went on and on. He didn’t really mind it to be honest, and really, he had his police friend by his side, who would definitely back him up if such cases happened.

But now, he didn’t like it. They kidnapped his friend, and he didn’t like it.

  

* * *

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rather long chapter, I must say:|  
> Self-beta'd, so all mistakes are absolutely mine:3

It was later in the evening when finally Akihito found himself walking towards his apartment building, which was located at one of the suburb areas in Tokyo. He let out a heavy sigh as he descended the stairs up to the second floor as he recalled that day's event that he could hardly get out of his mind. Everything felt so unreal at the moment, but Akihito had to painfully remind himself that this was all real, that he had to do something fast to escape this nightmare.

That day was so exhausting. It just started like any other day, when he just accompanied Kaede to go shopping, but then turned out into some scenes that came out straight right from action movie, where he found his friend kidnapped with some ransom note that was referred to him. And what was worse was the fact that Kaede was right, about going to the police station wasn't a good idea or something along that line. Because he just did, but oddly, none of the police would believe him, saying that nothing suspicious was going on around the neighborhood area, and saying that it was weird that nothing or no one came to report in if such case really occurred. And what was odder was the fact that not only they straight-forwardly rejected him, they also didn't think twice to not commence an investigation. Thus, sending his report to a total fantasy and closing the case like it never happened.

Akihito clenched his fists in fury as he recalled those mocking stares the officer sent towards him. They dared to blow him off, considering that his report was an empty threat, while here he was facing the reality of his friend missing.

At first, he had considered telling Kou about this. But a sense of guilt suddenly built inside him and he ceased himself from dialing the doctor, didn't want to burden him anymore with his own affair.

Now that he was totally alone, Akihito himself was honestly unsure of what to do next. His only lead was the note that was left on Takato's phone, whose message still looked a little bit fishy to him, judging by the lack of words it used and the time and place it told him to go. It sounded so secretive. Who would actually invite someone in the middle of the night at one of the deserted and unused harbor in Japan?

Historically speaking, Akihito had learned something from those places. Especially that harbor. It was one of the places where drug dealings and weapon trafficking usually occurred, commenced by yakuzas and those other living things by the same industry. He knew the person he was dealing was no ordinary kidnapper, or robber, or bad guy. In the worst case, they could be yakuzas themselves, but what kind of issue did they have with him? Akihito was sure he never picked up yakuzas as his object. He loved adrenaline, but he also cherished his life, even though it sucked.

As he unconsciously had reached his door, Akihito immediately fished out his key and automatically unlocking the door, finally deciding to retire for the night after a long day he had been having. Akihito involuntarily winced as the door was opened in front of him, revealing his familiar apartment with its lights blacked out. But as soon as he flicked the lights on, though, what met his eyes shocked him even more.

Just like his friend's house, his own apartment also looked torn down. The things were all over the place, and everything sure looked messier than the last time he saw them when he left. It was as if a thief had broken in, and searched for things. But it wasn't a theft he believed, because after a 30 minute check around the establishment, he didn't find anything gone.

His hazel eyes immediately popped open even wider as he remembered his only sacred room in his small apartment: his dark studio. He immediately made his way there and to his horror, the door was unlocked, or maybe broken down judging from the holes that resided around the area of the lock. With the tension that covered most of the muscles around his arms, Akihito ripped the door even wider, revealing the sight of his familiar dark room with its lights turned on. He didn't even think more of it as his legs automatically made their way towards his working desk, where most of his data and important files were stored, mostly inside his laptop on top of the desk. For about a tensed, 10 minutes he opened it all, checking every small detail he remembered was there. A sense of relief washed over him as there was none gone.

Next, he went to the one shelf where he put his cameras, all types that he could afford with the several types of lenses. Odd, nothing was amiss. Everything was still tucked, though in a messier condition, but nothing broke.

Akihito let his body fell onto the floor limply as his legs apparently grew weaker by the upside down situation. His heart involuntarily hammered against his rib cage, he was afraid at the possibility that it could break out of it and left him empty to death. The sound of his blood pumping furiously thundered in his ears, ringing inside his head probably more than it should because Akihito could sense the mighty headache coming his way. He was nothing but confused now, every possible step he would take in the future would only bring vital risks, what he thought would be the best way could pretty much bite him back in the ass. At that, Akihito shivered, his body shook from the shock and tension that overwhelmed him. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe easy, inhaling one breath and slowly exhaling it, trying to at least calm his panicking heart and mind. The deafening silence could only help little for his insecurities as it apparently worsened the situation for him, the atmosphere around him seemed to get colder within seconds.

What saved him was the sound of his front bell ringing, indicating that he indeed had some visitors waiting at his door. Reluctantly, he stood up, and strode towards the door with his still invisibly broken figure.

"Takaba - kun," a woman’s voice was heard the moment he opened the door, followed by a figure of a familiar old lady that he had known since living there, “here’s a mail for you. Someone left it yesterday when you were gone.”, at that, she respectively held out a brown envelope that appeared from behind her back and handed it to him, easing her face with a smile.

Akihito could only weakly grabbed the envelope and muttered a small “thank you” before wordlessly shut the door close right before her, already expecting her face that had turned all grumpy from his silent, cold treatment right on the other side of the door. But not like it mattered that much, since he apparently had something more important to take care of.

He sat on the couch and took a look at the envelope that he held in his grasp. There was no address, no name; this message was totally from an anonymous. Most likely a prank. Akihito let out an exasperated sigh before finally deciding to look at what was inside. At least it could distract him for a moment from the harsh reality that was currently hitting him like a midnight train.

With ease movement, he carefully ripped the seal, and from the little opening, he could make out some familiar paper that he recognized as money (a stack of it) and a white, slim paper. Taking out the money and putting it on the coffee table, Akihito finally moved his attention onto the single white note he held between his fingers, holding it close to his eyes as if to inspect it like he always did with a zooming feature in his camera.

A fine, italic handwriting met his vision as his eyes sent the images to his brain, asking for the mind to register what was on the paper. His eyebrows immediately rose close to the outline of his hair as he finally able to read the words, honestly not really liking it after all.

_Just a ‘thank you’ gift for you._

_Your stray, big cat. R_

_'Your’?_ Akihito suddenly felt the need to laugh at that. _Your? You are not even mine,_ he snorted, already knowing just who the sender was. A smile suddenly beamed out from his mouth as he lied down, taking in the sight of the note as he held it up in the air with his rounded bulb above him shone upon it, making an impression of it glowing. Akihito let out another series of chuckle as he read the note over and over, memorizing it in the back of his mind even, before he finally decided to put it down and stared blankly at his ceiling instead, like it was the most interesting thing to stare at.

Funny how he casually sent those ambiguous words to him and probably didn't mean what it literally meant, and funny how those words got Akihito worked up for a millisecond at the moment. It was as if there would be a chance they could meet again, and this note was some kind of a proof to that. The blond let out a sigh before resting his arm across his eyes, shutting his eyes as an attempt to rest them.

 _Could there be?_ That question echoed inside his head, demanding to be answered at the very moment it popped up. Akihito knew it was impossible, or to make himself feels better, nearly-impossible, for them to actually meet a second time, even for about a minute or so. He didn't know what kind of man Ryu was and so did Ryu. They were a total stranger. Okay, so maybe they had had sex once... scratch that, twice, but Akihito had told himself million times already that that meant nothing, and it shouldn't had gotten his hopes up just because he thought that having sex was a proof of some stronger bond.

Warm tears suddenly met the surface of his arm as the blond finally realized himself tearing up, as he couldn't actually handle the ache that grew within him by now. He turned to his side as he let out a heavy sob, curling up into a ball while hugging himself with his both hands, as an attempt to warm himself up, even though he knew it was actually futile.

For the first time in his life, Akihito actually felt how painful it was to be alone, to not have someone by your side at times when you wanted yourself to be comforted, or just simply hugged. For the first time in his life, Akihito actually pleaded silently for any gods or angels, anything, that could bring someone to him, send someone or hopefully _him_ to him, so that he could at least have something to come back home to, have something that could strengthen him up whenever he knew it was hopeless, he knew he was helpless.

But then Akihito could only swallow down the remaining sobs as it lulled him back to sleep.

_What a beautiful dream that is, Akihito._

* * *

“Are you sure you are really okay?”, a worried female voice that echoed through the receiver repeated for the umpteenth time that night, constantly reminding him that his situation was indeed worth worrying for, even from his best friend’s wife herself.

Akihito let out another sigh, which he exhaled far from the microphone so the woman couldn’t hear him sighing, before letting out sets of words as an answer, or more like, a convincer, “Kaede – san, I have told you so many times already that you don’t need to worry about me. I have been in much greater danger than this, remember my job? I’ve got this strong physique and various knowledge of martial art to defend myself. Don’t worry!”

As if sensing that his earlier words weren’t convincing enough, Akihito added, “Moreover, how are you?”

“I am obviously very fine over here,” she huffed out grumpily, not even bothering to cover up the distress in her voice, “Seriously, Aki – chan! As much as I hate to tell you, I’m very much frustrated just thinking of what crazy things you are doing right now. You don’t even tell me anything about it, you just brushed it off and told me that _everything is going to be okay_ ,” she impersonated the last line with much annoyance, somehow feeling that it had successfully made the blond flinched on the other line, “And what’s more stressing than that is the fact that I couldn’t do anything to help you at all! Why am I so hopeless in times like this?!”

At that, the photographer finally realized what she was fussing about this entire time–by texting him and calling him nonstop, asking him how he was doing and all that–and he reflexively felt the need to exhale a large amount of breath. But she made a point there. Knowing your beloved ones are in danger and you are in no position to do anything is just as frustrating as being in the position of the danger itself. The blond couldn’t simply imagine himself being in the woman’s position, totally helpless and restricted to do anything because of a mere pregnancy, whose husband was away due to some kidnapping accident that was unpredictable.

Akihito tried his best to soften up his voice, which was somehow stiffened under the pressure he was currently in, before finally opening his mouth to speak his voice over the call, “You must know by now that I’m not the only one on mission right now. Just, look at yourself! You have your own mission!” he urged, trying his best to sound as cheerful as he could be at the moment, “Delivering a healthy baby in less than 9 months? Man, that’s some hella work you got there! Not going to scare you or anything, but I heard that the pain of birthing was totally out of this world! I bet that was more frustrating than this.”

As Kaede didn’t respond, cueing for him to continue, Akihito felt the need to continue, “I am here to help you, Kaede – san. You have so many other things to get frustrated with, except this. Please, depend on me on this.

“I’m sure if I was the one who got kidnapped, Takato would pretty much do the same thing.” the blond finished.

It was truly unexpected of him when the one reply that answered him was a set of laughter, a heartfelt laughter that was so rare in his ears recently. As the laughter slowly trailed off into the background, Kaede’s voice came along, “Your words aren’t really the best ones but they somehow convince me. You know what? I depend on you.”

A moment of silence passed between them as she spoke again, “Thank you, Akihito.”

Akihito’s bright smile beamed in the dark place, somehow brightening the gloomy state his heart was currently in. He chuckled a little bit but it was soon died down when the woman said, “But you have to promise me you would come back safely. Shige has already mewled pitifully waiting for you.”

“Yeah, I know,” he responded, “I mean, who could be separated from me for too long and not miss me? Just kidding, of course I’m coming back! I will come back before you even know it.”

Several banters were exchanged between before they finally hung up, each of them bidding good luck for both parties as the call ended.

He felt the temperature turned a lot colder as he tucked his phone back inside his pants pocket, finally really alone and having no one to accompany him in this lonesome place as he waited for the appointed time to occur. It was already the decided day, and his digital clock on his phone had already showed an exact 11.00 PM. His hazel eyes searched back and fro, afraid that maybe he got the time and place wrong, but then his doubts immediately dissipated the moment his eyes met the sight of a black, slick sedan that made its way from the other way to the middle of harbor, which was surrounded by many worn-out looking warehouses that surely were unused.

As seconds passed before his eyes, several men walked out of the car, and slightly unsurprising for himself, a man who he recognized as the politician who recently got into his viewfinder, Yamamoto Saki, came out of the vehicle as well, all high and mighty in his Italian three-piece-suit which he bet was bought using dirty money. You know the kind of money which was obtained illegally. Akihito could only wince silently in disgust at the thought as he subsequently readied himself for the upcoming battle.

Hesitant footsteps echoed on the wide space as Akihito walked towards them, hands tucked inside his pocket as he hunched his shoulders as if trying to shrink himself from reality, though he sure as well wouldn’t happen. All eyes were immediately on him the moment he revealed himself from the dark, throwing daggers his way as if trying to bore a hole through his very figure under their intimidating stares. Akihito tried his best to avoid any kind of eye-contact as he kept moving forward; somehow the only sound that he could hear besides his own footsteps was his own blood thumping aloud in his ears.

It felt like decades before he finally decided to stop his track and lifted up his gaze, only to make an uncomfortable eye-contact with the man who obviously emitted the aura of the boss. Yamamoto set his stare straight on him; eyes glinted in sadism as Akihito wondered just what kind of things that were going through the politician’s head.

It sacrificed several tensed breaths before the older man decided to speak, “So, I honestly don’t expect you to come here. And totally alone at that,” he chuckled, “I kind of admire your bravery, kid.”

“Enough with the clichés! Where’s Takato?!” Akihito shouted, all anger and fury were expressed clearly in his infuriated expression.

At that, Yamamoto only laughed aloud, as if seeing his angry expression was so much as an entertainment for him, “So his name is Takato, huh? I must admit he is quiet an interesting guy.”

“You didn’t do anything to him, did you?”, Akihito asked, eyes clearly showing the sudden panic that washed over him like tidal wave from a bad mental image of Takato being beaten that suddenly popped in his mind.

“Worry not. I only asked him a few things,” as if pulling out a cigarette out of its confinement was some kind of a cue, one of his men immediately strode forward to light the cigarette for him, before he finally put it between his lips and exhaled, “And for an ordinary salary man, he sure has quiet a tongue.”

It was a second too late for Akihito to grasp what he did when he just suddenly felt his feet moving, stepping on the pavement hard as it gave him an impact to lung to the smug, older man that stood in front of him, confidently unmoving as he inhaled his smoke. Two hands shot from in front of him, grabbing his collar, and he was suddenly face-to-face the crime journalist, pupils dilated into slits like a predator as the blond spat in front of him, "You know what, old man? I don't fucking care about what you fucking asked of him. All I fucking want is for you to fucking release him right this fucking instant. Do you hear me, motherfucker? Or have those filthy ears of yours failed you?"

Akihito could feel the man flinched under his hold, and he immediately fought the strong urge to stretch out a smirk. Much to his surprise, Yamamoto finally moved his hands and used them to shove him off of him, leaving Akihito backed off wobbly with unbalanced feet.

He sneered, "Takaba Akihito, is it? For a mere photographer, you sure got guts. But it would be best for you to learn to not touch me with those filthy hands of yours. I hope you learn your mistake," he then turned his head to one side, "Get him."

Two bulky men immediately rushed towards him and caught him easily on both sides, totally making him down on their mercy. The blond fixed him an intense glare as he walked towards him, cigarette still stuck between his lips, as he stared the blond in disgust.

"For the one who summoned you, I think it would be impolite of me if we talk in this manner. Please, for our convenience, let these gentlemen lead you to my vehicle. At least we could talk as we sit.", after that, Yamamoto turned around to face the black sedan and smugly yet swiftly got into it.

It didn't take that long for the two goons that held Akihito to finally set their feet on motion towards the awaiting car with the struggling photographer in their hold. Akihito trashed aloud, calling their names as he wriggled his legs, as if it could release him from that torment.

Akihito felt like crying out loud as he was shoved harshly into the car with the goons blocking out all exits available, crushing his little hope of escaping the nightmare he stupidly, willingly walked into.

The sound of chuckle that irritated his hearing sense was the one who pulled his attention back to the front, which was back to the politician, who kept glancing at him like some unworthy animal. Akihito clenched his teeth altogether in order to hold in a scream as he glared, throwing ugly murderous intent to the older man who casually sat in front of him holding his cigarette like some King on his throne. It wasn't long before the engine started and they were pulled into a journey of the night.

It was tensed, so tensed that Akihito felt this uncomfortable churn of nervousness in the lowest pit of his stomach. He knew from the start that the man was wicked, but he didn't know what he would do to his prey once he gets his on them. He didn't know just how wicked Yamamoto was, and he didn't wish to find out, actually.

"You are scaring me with that look, kid.", Yamamoto started, the mockery in his voice totally denied the literal meaning of the words, "I just want to talk to you nicely here, so why the long face?"

"Because you're a fucking evil under human's skin and only God knows what kind of evil plot you're creating in your rotten brain right now.", Akihito spat, not bothering to cover up his annoyance.

"You are rather bold aren't you? Even after knowing just what kind of danger you are currently in."

"Danger, huh?" the blond snorted, "So this is the kind of politician that Japanese civilians always look up to until now? You've gotta be kidding me."

"So what kind of politician do you think I am? Clean and generous and free of sin? That's a totally naive thinking you have there kid.", he let out a smoke, "Naiveté could kill you in this world."

"But truth one day will kill you harder than deaths do, Yamamoto," the blond spat back, "Just imagine what punishment will await you when the world has finally known just what kind of man you are? Society would abandon you, you would have nothing but torture all your life. Everybody would remember you, oh yes they will remember, as the man that they would forever despise-"

"Yeah? I don't really care about that. As long as the truth doesn't leak out, it will be fine, right? I just have to pay the medias, make a more complex scandal, and the people would forever forget my past affair. It's just as easy as that.", Yamamoto answered simply, before sporting himself a smirk as he added, "Truth may kill me, but money can resurrect me back to the top of the world."

Akihito clenched his jaw, "You're insane."

"I was often told that."

A moment of silence stretched between them after that but was soon broken by Akihito's exasperated sigh, "So what do you want to talk about? You know I don't have anything to do with you _past affair_."

"Oh? Still dare to fool me in this kind of time? Just how reckless you could be?", he grunted out, widening his smirk.

As if sensing the blond's confusion, he continued, "You are the _honored_ photographer who made that ridiculous article of me exchanging some important goods," at that, he held up the rather old article, which was really photographed by Aki.

Akihito stared at the article with wide eyes, mouth slightly gaped open in a gasp as another sense of panic washed over him. _The photographer's name is supposed to be unknown..._ "How?", he finally spoke, after seconds of losing his own voice.

"What did I just tell you? About money and everything?", Yamamoto responded while flapping the article freely in his hold between his thumb and forefinger, "Yamazaki - san in the police station gladly _sold_ you off. How about that?"

"What..?", the blond breathed out, actually finding himself more speechless than before. As the gears inside his brain finally moved to register the meaning of those words, an ache suddenly made itself known beneath his chest, finally learning that in the end, the man that he truly trusted since his juvenile days, indeed, had betrayed him for some money the man offered him in exchange for his life. For his fucking life. "Yamazaki - san... did?"

"Ironic, isn't it? I bet you are really sad right now. Poor you."

His sarcastic words sounded like a blur in Akihito's ears as his brain couldn't really comprehend anything at the moment. He let his blond head falls down, eyes still wide with unshed tears that he didn't wish to shed right then. It was so painful, having your trust broken easily like that in the presence of money.

Is _it really that easy to betray me?_

"So you finally got down my article and once again cover up your flaws from the media. Now what? What do you want from me?", Akihito finally spoke, with a slight hoarse voice that his silent sobs could create.

The man casually slipped his cigarette back to his mouth as he thought about it, eyes glimmering with sadistic intent as he finally spoke, "The photos. Where are they?"

"What photos?", Akihito reflexively blurted out.

"Don't play dumb. Of course the photos you took of me. Where are they?", at that, he stubbed out the cancer stick on the ashtray that magically appeared on his man's hand beside him.

Something clicked inside Aki's head and he suddenly understood this whole ordeal. Yamamoto here most likely wanted to get rid of the photos, the real evidence, and that was why he got his apartment wrecked yesterday. Thankfully, he had secured the important files inside a mini flash disk that he had brought all the time with him when he went to Takato's, and he now left it in his apartment. Deep, deep in the farthest confinement he could ever find in his flat.

The blond glared at him, defiance was clear in his face, "I have deleted it."

"Liar," Yamamoto replied, "But, I guess that could wait. After all, the new scandal that I have made could cover it up for some time. Now, now, for the most important question of the night...

"Asami Ryuuichi. Do you know something about that man?"

There was the sound of a pin dropped somewhere in the darkness the moment the silence replied the ill-favored question. Akihito was immediately struck frozen on his seat, eyes widening in shock as his mouth shut tight in a grim line. Asami Ryuuichi. Just when was the last time he ever heard that name?  The name of the mysterious man whose face was still unknown to public, yet this Yamamoto guy asked him if he knows anything about Asami. Just how ridiculous is that?

"I don't know anything about him. In fact, I'm still searching for him!", Akihito fought back.

"Huh? You don't know? That is absolutely odd," the politician pondered, placing his fingers under his chin as if thinking about something, "My men have seen you with him several times in your apartment."

"What?"

"Yup, in your apartment," seeing the comical reaction he received from the blond, his smirk only widened, "If you still try to play dumb with me on this, that's totally okay. After all, we've got all the time in the world."

Akihito lowered down his vision and set it on his lap, trying to process the information he just got. His mind immediately proceeded on replaying him all the flashbacks of his apartment, all the going ins and outs, and all the people that he had brought in, except Kou and Takato of course. At one point, his realization hit him, and he immediately widened his eyes in shock from the memories that awoke within him. _The only person besides Kou and Takato is-_

Before he could wrap up his mind though, a punch on his gut defiantly stole his consciousness away; making the one and only answer got cut off in the important part.

 

* * *

 

" _Report_."

"It appears to me that the remaining goods are going to be transferred to Russia by tomorrow afternoon, sir."

" _Hm_ ," the man stopped for awhile, before continuing, " _and what about the hostages? I heard that politician caught someone for whatever reason. Have you identified them?_ "

"Ah, yes, sir. The person named Takato was kidnapped yesterday, but I believe there would be an exchange of hostages since Yamamoto - san apparently doesn't need the first hostage

 

anymore."

" _Oh? Who is it, then?_ "

"Takaba Akihito, sir."

There was a pause, " _Keep an eye on him. And I think it would be best to go there and surprise him by tomorrow, don't you think?_ ” there was a sound of a cigarette being lit before the man added, " _I entrust the preparation over there to you, Yoh._ "

"Yes, Asami - sama."

With that, the call ended with a click.

 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have planned the ending in my head. Its so clear to me nowXD so I think I will finish this first before writing anything else...  
> Critics and comments are welcomed!  
> I do not own the Finder Series


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know, I know. I have been a jerk for literally neglecting my stories for months and abandoning all of my dear readers:( There are so many things that happened in life that I cannot manage yet so I don't really have the time to sit down and write something good. High school starts, cultural shock, so many (unnecessary) homework and blablabla... I just wish you guys won't get mad at me for the delays:33  
> Anyway, enough with the useless babbles, let's get on the story!  
> Warning: self beta'd.  
> (oh yea, and it has been a long time since I last write this chapter so I sort-of forgetting what I want to write, lol. So please excuse the crappiness(?) ahead.)

It was the hands that suddenly roughly took hold of both of his sides that jerked him back to reality from the state of unconsciousness. With much effort, Akihito fluttered his hazel eyes open, and just as he had expected, the goons that sat perfectly by each of his sides in the car earlier had taken hold over his body once again, repositioning him and moving him out of the vehicle like a lifeless ragged doll. With a little ounce of his remaining energy, the blond tried to wriggle out of his restraint again, squirming and twisting under the strong grip, but a few minutes of doing it without any result in the end made him stop.

Akihito panted as that very action had exerted him more than he should. And even after that so much sweat, the men didn't budge a bit. He let out a heavy sigh as he tried to calm his breath. He knew if he worn himself out once again he would pass out, and if he passes out, only God knows what these bastards would do to take advantage out of his unconsciousness. Akihito knew he needed to get away soon, but it could wait. This was not the right time to do that.

Lifting his heavy head to take in his surroundings, he found himself being walked on a stone path, which was leading to a rather massive manor in the middle of forest. Looking behind him, they had indeed reached pass what looked like the main gate, which was high and large, probably surrounding the whole area. His photography eyes absorbed in every details, any kind of detail that perhaps could help him later in his escape. There were definitely three floors up the building, each divided by large balconies that covered most part of the front part of the manor. Several high windows covered the surface, coming from various rooms that were stored inside it. The manor itself looked rather old-styled, probably took in the old Victorian style of housing.

Upon entering the manor, two large doors welcomed them, and they somehow automatically opened from inside. Akihito stayed still as the doors slowly moved away, slowly revealing a figure of a man that stood with his hands behind him, body stance straight and full of confident. It didn't take long for Akihito to guess who it was, as the presence itself had already emitted such arrogance that could only belong to one man. Yamamoto himself only smirked at the glare his new hostage was now throwing at him.

"I bet this is something like your hidden house away from Japan that you use to do dirty things like kidnapping people for your benefit?", Akihito spat, darkening the gaze he sent using his hazel eyes that had never left the politician even for a second.

It honestly irked Akihito down to the core when the man in front of him only laughed in mockery, obviously patronizing him with his amused stare, "As expected from a crime photographer. Why, you have such good guess. Welcome.” it was a little too late for Akihito to spit at his smirking face when the smirk itself was immediately whipped away when Yamamoto turned around to walk further inside.

The men that held him immobile then followed their boss automatically, as if they had rehearsed this scene several times and Yamamoto turning his body around was their cue to continue walking inside. Akihito let the thought of them 'rehearsing' for a cool, badass scene from mafia movies entertained him for awhile, before the better sight of the inside of the manor jerked him back to his reality.

The manor was big, too big maybe. Akihito couldn't really understand any reason for building a house as big as this, especially if it was only used as a house to hold hostages. He meant, wouldn't it be such a hassle to clean all of the big spaces?

The four of them then walked the stairs that were located in the middle of the big... Lobby? Akihito didn't really know what to call that. Anyway, it took a good 10 minutes or so until they reached an elevator and rode it down, probably going to this basement which was filled with hostages. Akihito snorted.

Akihito had never thought that his movie-fantasy would ever come to real life, until now.

He was utterly speechless and surprised at the scene that was unveiled when the double doors of the elevator slid opened. Still in the strong hold of the goons, he was dragged forward, his feet sliding on the cold concrete as their ground heavily. They were then heading towards a dimmed corridor, where he could see some sort of jails along the way. All of them seemed empty though, it seemed like the politician didn't like to keep a human any longer after using them.

Akihito was jerked out of his musing when one of the goons pushed his one shoulder painfully, as if shouting to him to keep up the pace and move forward. The blond scowled internally as he had no choice but to obey, cursing them inside his mind every second that ticked away in his imaginary clock.

As they reached the end of the corridor, Akihito could faintly sense another presence inside the jail, which he later recognized as his long lost friend. His hazel eyes were immediately blown wide as the sight of an unconscious Takato sitting at one corner of the jail met him, his jaw dropped ungracefully as the alarm inside his head went off painfully.

"Takato!” he shouted, unable to keep it inside his throat for any longer. He lunged forward, bending his body to the front to break free, but then the men beside him only tightened up their hold, keeping him in place as they waited patiently for the next order from their boss which silently followed them from behind.

"Relax, Takaba - kun," he spoke smugly, walking to the front as he did so, "You will join him shortly."

“‘join him'?" Akihito exclaimed in shock, "I thought I remember you saying that you would let him free after I come to you, and I already did! You must let him go now!"

"Oh, how sweet," Yamamoto answered sarcastically as he fished out the keys that were somewhere inside his pocket, before placing it inside the keyhole and twisted it, "Okay then. As a reward, I think I should let him go. I really do admire your bravery, Takaba - kun." As he ended his speech, the door to the jail opened, and Akihito was immediately forced to go inside.

The blond groaned when his body was pushed onto the ground, feeling something clicked on the sides of his hips as it touched the hard floor. Despite the soreness that reverberated throughout his body, Akihito still managed to look up in time to see his weak friend's body being shaken up by one of the men in suit, seemingly trying to pull him back from the state of unconsciousness. The photographer was just about to shout and spit out every kind of foul words he had learnt since the moment he became a bad boy when suddenly, Takato started to wake up, fluttering his seemingly heavy eyelids to look up to his offender.

He looked kind of unfocused as he sharpened his eyes to see what was in front of him, but when he did, it was clearly obvious that something inside him flinched, judging by the way his body suddenly stiffened up and his hands trying to find the nearest wall to back off to.

Akihito was about to announce his presence to his oblivious friend when Yamamoto interrupted out of the blue, cutting off whatever it was on his tongue effectively as most of the attention was defiantly glued on the sound of his voice, "So... Now I know what to call you, thanks to your friend over there," he glanced to the blond, but Takato seemed to be too immersed to follow his direction. Deciding quickly, he continued, "Takato is it? You are just that stubborn you didn't even tell us anything on yesterday's interrogation."

"What do you want?” Takato spat fiercely, despite the visible shiver that ran through his body, "I didn't tell you anything because there isn't really anything I do know about what you asked!"

"I figure as much," Yamamoto simply shrugged, before throwing another glare towards Akihito's direction as the glint in his eyes darkened the second he set his eyes on him, “and that’s why, I humbly choose to let you go, Takato my dear friend.”, Akihito swore there was a slight sarcasm dripping on the last line.

“Wha...” Takato’s jaw dropped, wholly unable to grasp the situation as the words that replied him obviously caught him off guard.

Without waiting for another reply, Yamamoto’s two men suddenly barged into the tiny space and effectively took hold of Takato’s both tied arms. Akihito watched as his friend finally set his feet on motion and started fighting them to get free, horror expressively layering his widened hazel orbs. As if sensing the intense and open stare he got from the other side of the room, Takato glanced back; only to finally realize that his blond friend was already there this whole time. “Aki!” he shouted, panic finally arose painfully inside his chest.

The blond rose from the ground as quickly as he could the moment that voice called out to him, but to no avail, one of the giants in suit harshly pushed him down, sending his body crashing painfully against the wall at the furthest corner of the jail. His hazel eyes didn’t flutter close, he witnessed the scene clearly; Takato still trying to kick and call to him, Takato being dragged out of the room; basically everything. When the sound of something smacked against flesh and Takato’s voice was abruptly shut out came into his earshot, Akihito fixed the politician a hot glare, the kind of glare a predator sent towards its supposed prey.

Yamamoto only replied his glare with his own, clearly amused by the whole scene that was unveiled before him.

Once his goons were already out of sight, the bald man pulled a chair from the darkness behind him and sat right in front of the jail, eyes still focused on his blond hostage. Still in rage, Akihito forcefully pushed his own weight off the ground and got himself sitting right in front of the man, only separated by the hard, metallic cell between them.

Several minutes stretched without them saying anything, both parties stayed silent with the tension that fogged in the thin air.

But finally, Yamamoto chose to break it, “So, Takaba – kun, I think it’s finally the perfect time for you to let your mouth loose… since I have let your friend run free out there. I have fulfilled my promise, haven’t I?”

Akihito clearly wasn't impressed, “What do you want?” he spat bitterly.

"Scary, indeed," he let out a nonchalant chuckle, "Right down to business, aren't you?"

When the angered blond in front of him didn't seem to be in the mood to reply any more than necessary, Yamamoto continued, "Alright then. I will ask this again: Asami Ryuichi," he stopped at that for a moment, letting the name sunk in to the boy's mind, before continuing where he left off, "do you know something about that man?"

"I told you I don't know!” Akihito yelled, now frustrated by the politician's useless question, "don't you have enough?! I have never even seen his face, how could I _know something about him_?!"

"I think you would _know something_ if," Yamamoto fished out something from his pants pocket, "I show you this."

Akihito was about to fight back when suddenly a cell phone was shoved right to his view, showing off a kind of blurry photo through the gallery. The blond honestly didn’t want to reconsider his answer, because why the fuck would he even give this man a truthful answer? But then, the intense glare that was sent to his way was enough to shut him up, so shut up he did. He then refocused his eyes on the photo, clearly trying to make out the blurry features.

The photo was taken from above, but it was enough to make out a figure of a man. The man wore a black suit, and he the way he stood in the photo was so arrogant it was as if he was already ready to get his photo taken right then. The man had slick raven hair, but there was nothing else anymore that could wake up his memory… until he saw those pair of eyes. The kind of eyes that was sharp like eagle’s, seemed to be shining in the dark in its odd, golden color…

Golden…

The hazel eyes that suddenly widened after a good five minutes of inspecting was enough as a cue for Yamamoto to pulled his cell phone back in his pocket. Taking the man’s photo was totally worth it in some cases like this, he mused.

“So,” he started, lips curled into a knowing smirk as whatever plan was immediately plotted in his mind, “Remember anything?”

Akihito looked up to him; his hazel eyes expressively showed the feeling of betrayed, disbelief. Seconds of tensed waiting, the blond dropped his head, only hung by his sagged shoulder as if he was thinking of something. The politician tsk-ed but didn’t let his composure crumble. He just waited, waited for so long for the kid to just open his damn mouth to speak.

“That…” Akihito finally spoke out, his voice came out barely above a whisper but still audible, “Why do you show me a photo of… _that_?” he asked, the slight tremble that was heard lingering in his own voice made him cringe.

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s the main object of this whole ordeal.”, the politician didn’t miss a beat, answering the question so smoothly like it was already recorded in his brain over and over again.

Yamamoto leaned in, before slowly darkening his gaze as he opened his mouth to speak, “So, what was your answer again? I didn’t quiet catch that.”

It caught him off guard when he saw the boy shaking his head slowly, which he registered later as an answer of a ‘no’. Rage immediately filled his mind as he stepped forward; pulling the boy’s collar to bring him face-to-face with his enraged self. The boy showed him the face of indifference, which irked him even more.

“What did you just imply here? ‘No’?” he spoke through gritted teeth, clenching even further when he imagined the thin collar to be his victim’s pale neck, “What are you trying to do? Protect him or what?”

"I said I don't fucking know! Is it so hard to understand that?!” Akihito shouted back, refusing to back down even though he knew the situation wasn't siding him.

With a harsh force, the politician threw the boy like some worthless door, the wrath clearly emitting from his very presence. He clicked his tongue before standing up; the chair almost stumbled back by the powerful jerk he inflicted on it.

Akihito stared at the concrete ground below him silently, taking each calming breaths as he heard the angry stomp of the man's footsteps echoing even far away from his spot, indicating that the man was starting to go away. But as soon as he felt a sense of relief washing over him, Yamamoto suddenly glanced back, in which he could feel the intense stare that he glared away to his way.

It took him several tensed breaths to speak up in the silent corridor, "There's no way you could escape this, you know that? I have some big plans for you tomorrow, and there is no way I would let you go, Takaba - kun.” with that, he walked away even further, closing the exit with a loud thump.

He flinched a little when the words strike him. _Big plans. What big plans?_

But Akihito couldn't bring himself to care, even to listen and sink into it. His mind drifted off to somewhere far... Somewhere, where _that man_ could be at.

It was unexpected even to him when he heard himself choke on his own breath, dropping even lower to the ground as he felt his chest tightened by the sudden reality that crashed upon him immensely.

His vision blurred, and it was seconds later when he felt himself sobbing.

 

* * *

 

 

The sound of footsteps thumping against the cold floor jerked him awake from his short sleep. It was so hard for him to close his eyes, and now whoever it was dare to wake him up? Akihito groaned at that thought.

With heavy limbs, Akihito slowly crawled towards the exit of his cell, curiosity defeating his fatigue. His hazel eyes searched for the source, only to find it walking towards him with steady steps. As the light slowly shone against the figure, Akihito was kind of surprised to make out the face of one of Yamamoto's goons, who he remembered accompanying him at the harbor earlier, but rode another car. Slowly yet surely, the face of the man in suit became clearer to his vision. He could make out a mop of black hair, which was a little bit long, passing the nape of the man's neck and draped lightly just above his collar. His eyes reminded him of Chinese, sharp, cold, and hard as steel. Shiver ran down his spine as the nameless goon glanced towards him in an uncomfortable way, so focused and intense it made his knees go weak.

Akihito automatically lifted his head when the man's height towered over him, shadowing his smaller figure with his bigger one.

"Takaba Akihito," he called, his voice surprisingly came out quiet calm but still wary, "May I speak to you for a moment?"

_Huh_ was the word that crossed his mind.

Still felt flabbergasted and caught off-guard by the sudden polite treatment the goon showed to him, Akihito hadn't realized that the man had slowly crouched down, eyeing him in the same level. Shaking off his shocked mind, Akihito refocused his vision and stared back at the person who stared back at him questioningly.

As if sensing his confusion, the man started, "Ah, you probably don't have any idea as to why I suddenly want to talk to you like this. My apologies," the man offered one of his hand through the cell as he continued, "The name is Yoh."

"...Akihito.” the blond answered with his eyes wide opened, still unsure at the unpredictable event that occurred to him at the moment.

He slowly shook the offered hand as he waited for Yoh to speak up, and gladly, he did, "I am going to tell you something, but I need your cooperation to not make a chaos and attract some attentions."

"How could I possibly attract some attentions? This is probably in the basement and there's fucking no one in this-", as Yoh gestured towards the hidden camera at the corner of the corridor, Akihito only nodded numbly, "...oh."

"I have locked the surveillance room but there's still a high possibility that Yamamoto has the immediate access to every hidden cameras around the manor I tell you.” the man spoke, voice seemingly forced into a hush as he talked to the blond behind the bars.

Akihito only let his mouth gapped open for a minute before finally gathering his voice back, thankful that it didn't come out as wavering as his mental currently was, "Um... I still don't understand the reason you came here and talked to me like this..."

The Chinese looking man only looked at the confused young man for a moment before leaning closer than before and whispered, "Asami - sama wants to get you out of here."

"Asa-?!", Akihito started to gather his voice to yell, but then the reality of the situation quickly hit him and he knew it better than any sane person to shut his mouth, "Asami? Asami Ryuichi?!"

"Yes, he-"

"You work for him?!” the blond hissed, disbelief still coloring his honest hazel eyes, "I mean aren't you working for- and- can you just explain to me the whole situation?!"

"To put it simply, I am working for Asami - sama.” Yoh unsurprisingly answered calmly with his ever cold eyes, "He sent me here as a spy to check on Yamamoto and his dealings, and perhaps also… to check on you.”

Akihito felt like laughing, “Heh, ‘check on me’, huh?”, the blond lowered down his gaze as he half-whispered, “Does he really think that showing me his sympathy would make me want to go back to him and get back being his pawn?”

Yoh didn’t even have the moment to answer when those hazel eyes lifted up and shot back to his own gray eyes, “Tell him, I don’t fucking need his help. I would survive this whole bullshit without him. And if death is my only choice in the end,” he paused, taking a brief moment to rethink his next words, “I would gladly take it.”

It felt like a cold splash on the face. The answer, along with the hard, icy voice that accompanied it, was enough to send an involuntary shiver down the Chinese man’s spine. Whatever went through the blond’s mind, he really meant it.

Akihito just stared at the other man’s slightly shocked face, briefly feeling satisfied enough to not regret ever saying those words out loud. A small, helpless smile stretched below his nose as he slowly stood up and descended deeper towards his cell, walking back to the furthest corner on the cubical prison. He sat then, back facing his audience as he waited patiently for a reply, or rather, to just simply wait for the man to go away.

It was several breathes later when he finally heard the sound of feet being stomped on the stony ground, and felt the man standing up, probably still facing him.

Akihito was just about to say something but the man raced him, voice composed as ever, “Asami – sama will come this mansion at dawn, precisely. You have several hours to decide.”

The blond didn’t move an inch as he held his breath, suddenly feeling tensed at the mention of _that_ name again.

“I hope you choose a wise choice, Takaba – san.”

  

* * *

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back! not really, honestly im in the midst of doing my midterm exam, lmao.   
> but despite having math, history, and english exams tomorrow, I am still logging in to my account and share and update (yay?)  
> I honestly sucked real bad in writing this one so please spare me on the grammatical errors that may occur in the mid of ur reading:3  
> self-beta'd.

It was hard sleeping through the night at that time. The moon was so high up in the sky and yet Akihito just couldn't find it in him to close his eyes and sleep. He knew tomorrow day wouldn't be in his favor in he would need to rest up to face whatever was going to happen, but the sickening thought about the information he received that day had prevented him from sleeping, leaving his mind awake and mental restless. Akihito couldn't simply comprehend the entire situation that was pressured into him. Firstly, accepting that his guest was Asami _fucking_ Ryuichi all along, the one he had wanted to meet, to capture in his Viewfinder, all this time, had been fooling him to letting him living in the same apartment as him. And secondly, thinking and mingling about the offer that was offered to him; the offer to be saved, by the very same _Asami fucking Ryuichi_. Akihito didn't have the time and energy to digest them all, to simply accept the reality and get on with it. No, he was a man with pride, and being fooled around like this was not his thing. He knew he needed to do something, but being in the state of restrained, he knew he could only do so much as to wait, to wait and pray for the best to happen to him. God sure knows how to save His children from misery.

He sat and stared at the black, shiny metal wall in front of him for so long he felt his butt had stiffened from hours of sitting. Lying didn't help that much. He had tried and got tired of it as soon as he did it. So Akihito had no choice but to hold up his body as long as possible, all the while thinking about the slim chance he probably had to escape this hell hole.

It felt like years until the sound of keys clashing against each other echoed at the corridor in front of him. It jerked him out of his musings as the sound of bold footsteps followed along, the probably thick soles hitting the floors loudly as the owner walked confidently. Being tempted by his own curiousness, Akihito slowly crawled to peek, wasn't really ready when his eyes met the giant figure of a guard, dressed in all black with his sunglasses glinting sharply against the dim light. The blond stealthily backed off, silently bracing himself at the very thought of this man coming to torture him or something.

His heart hammered rather loudly against his ribcage as the man closed in, seemingly searching for that one key to open up his cell. True to his thought, the cell was slowly opened, and the giant made a move to get in. Akihito's back was now obviously plastered against the wall, his mind racing to find any kind of trick he could pull to fool this man. _Maybe I could slip through his legs or something..._

"Oi.", the casual greeting the man gave him shocked him down to the core. Akihito's hazel eyes widened as he replied, "What the fuck do you want?"

"Yamamoto - sama wants me to bring you to him.” the man coldly spoke, before slowly bringing up a pair of handcuffs from the pocket on the inner side of his tux, "Either you would want it easy or hard, I will still bring you to the boss."

"You guys are just as stupid as your fucking boss.” Akihito spat, silently trying to manipulate the man with his words, "Why the hell would you handcuff me? Is there a look on my face that tells you that I will try to run away? I don't even know the way in the house! I will just get lost and my escape would be futile, wouldn't it?"

The man let out a small huff, "We do this for a precaution. Who knows what you are capable of."

Akihito rolled his eyes, "And what if I say I don't want to go. What will you do?"

"I will just fight tooth and nail and hit the back of your head. With that, I'm pretty sure the next time you wake, you wouldn't be in Japan again."

 _Che..._ Akihito lost all kind of idea as panic ran along his spine. With a loud sigh, the blond man lazily stood up and walked towards the goon, defiantly offering his hands for the man to handcuff him. Akihito was sure he was done already when the handcuffs clicked shut around his wrists, sealing the doom he was sure coming his way. He didn't look at the goon at all as he walked pass the dimmed corridor, sure enough the man was now mocking him with the way he looked at him from arrogant eyes.

The walk was so silent that when an alarm rang aloud inside the closed space, Akihito flinched and even tried to close his ears. The man in black seemed to flinch as well, as he immediately looks around in search for the source. Turned out it were the emergency alarms that were set all along the corridors. Akihito turned around to ask, but before he could do so, his hand was already, and roughly pulled by the guard, who immediately lead him towards the stairs beside the elevator he rode earlier.

"Ouch, man! What the fuck!” Akihito cursed, protesting at the painful sting that was bruised up against his wrists by now, "What the fuck happened?! Stop pulling me, motherfucker!"

"There is an emergency going around. I'm going take you the boss right now.” he spoke hastily, all the while stepping two ladders at a time.

Akihito's shorter legs couldn't keep up, "Could you slow down a lil'?! I'm your boss freakin' trophy and I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy to receive it a little damaged!", he hated at the way he was calling himself a property but whatever, sometimes saying things like that could perhaps save his life.

The man turned deaf ears towards him as he continued to step up. Annoyed, Akihito silently persisted to not continuing on walking, but the strong grip the man had on him lifted him up almost every time he stopped. Using his brain a little, suddenly an idea came popping in his head. Smirking Akihito planned to do just what his idea was, not really caring about the percentage of his loss if he failed.

With a swift move, Akihito circled the man's wrist with the chains connecting his handcuffs, and tightened its hold, before starting to root his feet onto the ground, stubbornly resisting the force the man had on him. With all his weight, Akihito jumped back, taking the man's hand inside his chains with all its might. Startled, the goon didn't really expect it as his body fell backwards, realizing a little too late that the cause of his fall was because of the young man that he had put on restraint earlier. His eyes glared maddeningly as he tried to reach for the blond, but it was too late as Akihito had pulled the man faster with his powerful hold, switching their places silently as Akihito was slowly getting on top of him. Something lifted up his courage when Akihito had finally succeeded on sitting on top of the body as it slowly descended to meet its crash.

And crash it did.

The wind was knocked out from his lungs as the man's head hit the floor behind him. The slowly, trails of blood started leaking from the back of his head, indicating that it was indeed, a powerful crash. Akihito couldn't really believe what he was seeing as the man in front of him actually, likely, died from his cheap trick. Hazel eyes widened as he backed off, cold shivers suddenly ran along his spine.

The blond could feel his whole body trembling, slowly letting the reality sunk into his conscious mind.

_I - killed... him?_

A loud gasp escaped his mouth as the sight of blood entered his view, a sickening effect it did to his stomach urged him to vomit. Good thing he hadn't eaten anything, or else he would feel bad to retch beside the corpse.

Akihito tried to stand up on shaking legs, but failed twice due to his wobbling body. The photographer then focused on getting his keys, and fortunately, he did find it. With trembling hands he somehow managed to get his hands off the metal restraints, and heaved his shaking body off the ground, not forgetting to get the other keys out of the corpse's pocket.

Without a second glance, Akihito ran through the stairs, out of the basement towards - what he hoped for - freedom.

 

* * *

 

It was eerily silent in the hall as Akihito walked cautiously, taking in his surrounding as much as possible into his memory. Cold sweat came dripping down his forehead as his heart beat loudly, wildly and painfully inside his chest, painfully anticipating for any kind of danger. His eyes hastily swapped left and right, expecting any kind of intruder that may leapt at him at any second.

After minutes that felt like decades in his head, Akihito had somehow reached another set of corridor, which held so many doors on each side of the walls. The blond's curiosity was so inevitable in his mind, but he strongly held it down as he refocused on what his purpose was, to get the way out of this mansion as soon as possible.

It horribly shocked him out of his mind when he heard loud wailings from the room on his right, not really expecting that at all in this silent hall, saved from the emergency alarm of course. He hesitantly took a step towards it and listened to it for awhile, but then a loud sound of hasty footsteps suddenly echoed somewhere near and that was when Akihito pulled the door open without any second thought, silently glad that the door was surprisingly unlocked.

He was welcomed by a soft light coming from the center of the room, and as he looked deeper into the details of the space, he was kind of surprise to find the soft blue wallpaper fascinating the walls around him, perfect with the toys, the dolls, the baby bottles, and some set of diapers that rested on one corner of the room. Akihito's eyes wandered off everywhere until its gaze fell for the one thing in the middle of the room, peacefully laying on the big princess bed with all its glory. The blond walked slowly, so, so slowly until a sight he would probably never forget rose in his view.

It was a baby. A small, fucking baby who was crying for her bottle beside her pink bed.

Akihito's jaw would immediately fell onto the floor comically if it's not for the never-ending cries that came from the smaller figure. Akihito then provided her with what she needed and thankfully, she stopped wailing, happily sucking onto the bottle that seemed to be her favorite.

 _Why a baby?_ Akihito thought hardly, as he precautiously locked the door, just in case anyone would barge in.

"Da...?” a small voice intruded his musings, and it was all it took to get Akihito to jerk his head upwards, finally paying attention to the object of his confusion.

The photographer then lowered down his head as to inspect the baby even closer, but then he had never expected an abrupt laugh coming from her, seemingly excited at his bigger size compared to her. Seeing that, Akihito chuckled a little bit, suddenly feeling all funny at how absurd his situation was. First thing, he killed someone, and the second thing he knew, he was accompanying a baby?

"What the hell are you...” Akihito let out a sigh, whilst scratching the back of his head restlessly.

He knew this was not the perfect time for nursing anyone's baby but he just couldn't simply picture himself leaving the small baby inside this mansion, inside the place where warfare was probably inevitable to happen.

"What do I do with you?" Akihito asked, really knowing that he wouldn't get a relevant response but still asked anyway.

The baby girl then opened up a wider smile and clapped her hands, super excited to see the frustrated face the blond was currently making.

Finally, after a full five minutes of thinking, Akihito decided to just bring the baby with him. There's no fucking way he would let any bullet grazes this pure, innocent thing.

With that thought, he finally made a move, bringing a blanket and wrapped the baby in there, before lifting it up in front of his chest and tied it around his torso.

And after all the preparation was done, Akihito finally took a deep breath and opened up the door.

 

* * *

 

"The coast is clear, sir."

Golden eyes gleamed dangerously in the midst of all darkness, seemingly satisfied by the news he just received through the phone. With swift move he ended the call, not really caring to give his subordinate a concrete response because he knew, his men just knew what they should do next without him ordering them aloud around.

With one final satisfied smoke, he stubbed out the cigarette he was smoking before coming out of the car, the black midnight sedan he always drove around in times like these. He took several hesitant steps to meet one of his most trustworthy men, a black-haired secretary everyone knows to be Kirishima.

Kirishima was just hanging up his phone when his boss came from behind him, silently demanding the information he had been seeking about since hours ago.

"Yoh still hasn't found any sign of him," Kirishima said sternly, "but it is highly possible he is still inside the house."

Upon hearing the not-so-satisfying news, the golden-eyed man momentarily narrowed his eyes, before covering it up almost immediately before his man even noticed it. He then casted his gaze back onto the main building, eyeing it as if to burn it down with his eyes, before speaking out loud, rather boldly,

"Let's move.”

 

* * *

 

He didn't know what had happened these past few hours that could possibly harm his perfectly planned plan. He was supposed to go to Russia the next morning to transfer all the goods he had stolen from Asami and cut all ties from Japan for good, but this? This was not how he had planned it. Not with all these emergency alarm blaring about; not with most of his men dying everywhere, not with his hostage running around the house untraced, and not with his only small child gone.

Yamamoto stared at the many monitors he had in his room for hours, cold sweat dripping down his rounded cheeks as he just realized that someone had hijacked all of his hidden cameras around the house, making the search for one blond man more difficult than ever.

He tried to be calm, but all the situation around him - the emergency alarm, the sound of man's shouting from outside, the sound of guns shooting here and there - seemed to make it even more impossible to be calm. Not only that; his child, his one perfect baby, was report missing from her room, and the only suspect for that was:

Takaba fucking Akihito.

Yes. Only him.

Yamamoto had calculated it all in his head. That blond man would totally use his baby to threaten him and make beg for hours. Honestly, that's just how low-lives lived their short little life.

It was the sudden turbulence that shook his door that made him jerk from his seat, looking cautiously behind him for any intruder. He knew his door was perfectly locked, all locks made from number codes at all, but when the sound of it getting unlocked from outside shocked him down to the core, making the insides of his stomach churned in a painful way and urged him to vomit all of his adrenaline away, if that was even possible though.

His eyes widened when the sight of a polished, dark loafer made its way through his door, and it was not that long before a man in suit he had known his entire life - Asami Ryuichi - appeared before him like some majestic Lucifer, with his mighty army behind him, as if ready to take his life away.

"It's nice meeting you again, Yamamoto Saki - san," that insidious voice called his name, before coming right in front of him and venomously spoke softer than before, "I see you have been really well, all this time."

 

* * *

 

"Dadada!!” the girl cried out in his arms, loudly demanding for some relaxing bed to sleep on because it surely had felt like hours after Akihito had carried her, and it didn't feel comfortable at all.

The blond frustratingly let out a huff as he half-whispered, "I'm sorry, but could you lay your voice down a little? Please, it will be just a little more minute until I let you down okay?"

The baby didn't seem to be convinced by this answer as she brought up her small fists to hit the man on his chest, while wiggling all of her body to be let out of the tight bond the man had around her body. The moves she caused had made Akihito bent low, but the blond didn't really give up as he put his arms around her and lifted her up rather forcefully, forcing himself to turn deaf-ears towards her loud wailings.

 It was because of the sudden gunshot they heard from a room not too far from them that made Akihito turned his head towards the source, curiosity filling up his nerves once again. His heart thumped furiously as minutes ticked by, silently awaiting for what yet to come. Taking a deep breath, Akihito stepped towards it, hands clutched tight around the smaller body in his hold. The baby too, as if feeling the danger they were going to encounter, suddenly fell silent, and held onto Akihito like he was her only lifeline.

Upon nearing the entrance, Akihito could make out some voices.

"You will not get back what's already mine! Don't you realize that it's already the time for you to back down and die for good?!"

 _That must be Yamamoto.._ Akihito silently thought, whilst still closing in towards the door which held million all the answer to Akihito's curiousness.

The next voice, however, had succeed fully froze him onto his spot.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?", that cold, baritone voice spoke out, sending chills down everyone's spine with the venom that layered on his voice, "Stealing, and even claiming that as yours. If I were you, I would have killed myself. At least it is more prideful than being cornered like this. Don't you think so? Yamamoto?"

 _It's-_ Akihito held his breath, eyes wide opened as he put his hand over his mouth to conceal a scream he knew would come at any second if he lost control over his own body. That voice, it had been so long since the last time he heard it, and Akihito didn't know why he had this urge to shout, to tell the world about how he felt oddly _relieved_ to hear that voice once again. He shut his eyes together when he felt the familiar sting crawling its way towards his cornea, not wanting to let any tear slips out.

There was silence all over again as Yamamoto seemed to shut up. It was all tensed as seconds ticked by, everybody was heavily anticipating about what was about to come.

Akihito opened his eyes then, before slowly making his way towards the little opening of the door to see what was currently happening. It shocked him down to the core when the figure of Asami Ryuichi, Ryuu, pulled the gun from his holster and pointed it straight to the politician's head, eyes gleaming with death and murderous intent.

He didn't even think about it when he jumped forth, leaping into the scene with a baby in his arms as he shouted, "Stop!"

Everyone almost seemed to stop breathing as they turned their attention towards the blond boy that unexpectedly jumped from behind them. Especially Asami himself.

Asami hastily pulled his gun and aimed it at the new comer but as soon as he saw the familiar blond man, he immediately pulled the weapon away. All eyes focused on the young man as he called, "Takaba?"

"Could you stop all this?!” Akihito shouted, whilst clutching the baby even tighter in his hold, "Can we just talk this over without any guns and blood?! Asami!"

"Takaba, you-", Asami stopped abruptly, before narrowing his eyebrows and glared threateningly towards him, "Kirishima, take him to the car. Now."

With a brief nod, the secretary set his foot to work, hastily grabbing most of Akihito's weight into his hold and easily lifted him off the ground. Annoyed, Akihito fought tooth and nail to get out from the strong hold, using every movements his body could do to wriggle out of the hands that restrained him, "Let me go, you fuckers! There's no fucking way am I going to go with you! Asami! No-", he gritted his teeth, "Ryuu!"

At that, Asami defiantly turned his head, shock drawn perfectly on his handsome face. Akihito let out heavy sigh as he finally let the tears fell down, biting the inside of his cheek to hold in any kind of wailings or whining that were possible to come out.

Seeing the older man cried, the little baby in his arms cried as well, not liking the situation even though not really knowing about what was happening at the moment. Hearing the familiar sweet cry, Yamamoto jerked up at the sound, eyes glimmering with a new hope as he called, "Yuki!"

 _Yuki?_ Akihito thought, but before he could comment a single word at it, Asami had already pointed his gun back at Yamamoto, eyes sharp like a predator ready to pounce on its prey. Yamamoto looked at the glimmering weapon in fear, head ducked down in anticipation of a bullet that might strike him at any moment.

Akihito watched the whole scene with tearful eyes, his eyes dilated into little dots as sense f disbelief washed over him. It was painful, too painful to watch; to watch a person you had known as someone who was kind and well-mannered, shoots someone mercilessly. It was sickening to know that, the person he had longed this entire time, turned out to be some bloodlust yakuza he detested the most.

And before he knew it, he had set his mouth to scream, "Asami! Don't-!"

Everything turned black as he felt someone hit him somewhere on the back of his head, and the last thing he could register was the sound of shoots ringing around him, before unconsciousness claimed him fully.

 

* * *

 

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> self-beta'd, so please excuse any grammatical mistakes!:9

The next time consciousness started seeping into his mind, he just knew in an instant that he still wasn't lying on his bed, still trapped in this whole dark ordeal that he accidentally jumped into. The first thing he did was squinting his eyes open, trying to find as little light source as possible as to not surprise his weak pupils. It was surprisingly pleasant to find out that the place where he was lying on was dim, not at all worrying as he had expected. He subsequently also noticed that he was covered by a silky blanket, and that wherever he was, he was in a moving thing, judging by the sound of engine and the slightly trembling surface. Huh, it was not rocket science, he knew where he was. A car. A moving car.

Realizing that he was not wholly safe yet, Akihito immediately worked his muscle to sit upright, his eyes blinking several times to register as many pictures of the car as possible. Outside was dark, so it was not that long since the last time he lost consciousness. And looking at the anatomy of the car, he defiantly identified the car as a limousine. It was not that long for him to finally set his eyes upon the supposedly owner, who was sitting right in front of where he was lying.

Set of piercing golden eyes were immediately glued onto him the moment he moved his body to wake up. It didn't flinch at all, not a little bit. As if his waking up was already anticipated minutes ago.

He didn't know what it was but something certainly fell into the lowest pit of his stomach, sending the radiation throughout his body along with the chills along his spine. Akihito's bright hazel eyes widened, its unique color penetrating the plain dark of the night.

Something that felt like longing, like missing, like needing, filled the entire empty space in the blond's heart. It ached so much, so much that it almost urged him to lounge forward, to approach the man with all of him, to embrace him, to never let go of that addicting smell, strong hands, everything. But something that felt like hatred, like sadness, like loathe also came in between, mixing with the first group of emotions strongly that made him want to attack him, to strangle him, to wound him so many times so that he would know just how much it hurt to be betrayed. Both emotions were so strong he was so confused on choosing which one, because he didn't know what he should feel at the man in front of him anymore.

The man, Asami Ryuuichi, was the man he hated, he detested. He was his number one target in his viewfinder, his most wanted enemy. But the same Asami Ryuuichi was also the man he came back to; his home. It was in those miserable and lonely hours that he longed for him fervently.

And now that they had met at last, he didn't know what to do.

"Takaba," it was unexpected, and Akihito flinched a little because he didn't see that coming from the older man. Curiosity filled his whole mind as he jerked his head upwards, meeting the very expression of his talking-partner, "how are you feeling?"

Something ugly churned inside his stomach and he knew anger was going to overcome him soon. And truth be told, Akihito let his madness won.

It was against his sane mind to jump onto the man to choke him on the neck, but he cared little about it anyway.

His hazel eyes glared daggers at Asami, as if he was trying to kill the man with his glare instead. "'How are you feeling', you asked?!” he hissed while gritting his teeth angrily, "how do you think I am feeling huh?!"

As if feeling that his response was not needed, Asami stayed silent, and fortunately, the blond continued, "You. Just for your fucking information, you are Asami fucking Ryuuichi. And you know what does this Asami fucking Ryuuichi mean to me? He was my fucking target, all I ever wanted to do was to expose his freaking face on the media so I could laugh at my own accomplishment," he sucked in a breath, feeling that the annoying tears was going to bite his eyes in the back of his brain in any second, "but you, you feigned innocence and came into my life, acting like a different person, lying to me in the smoothest way that even I didn't notice that you are the public's enemy. And you know what does that Ryuu mean to me?!"

He didn't even realize that the next moment he wanted to spit another curse he was already sobbing, the choke he had on his neck was already weakening as his body trembled from the crying. It became so hard to talk as his lung demanded more air to breath, as his eyes had become so red and so ugly that it would totally destroy his image if he ever shows up his face in front of the man again. But Asami surprisingly didn't comment about it, he just sat there; letting Akihito cried all he wanted as he stared down at him.

It was in that moment where he fought this urge to hug him. No, it was not the right time.

"You bastard! Jerk! Idiot!” Akihito cursed aloud, hitting his chest with his ever powerful fists with each curses that came out of his mouth, "pervert! Stupid! Asshole! Don't you ever come into my life again! You motherfucker! I hate you! You ruin my life!"

It was not the hits that hurt the most, it was the words instead, that cut deep into his heart. Asami closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself, to steady his own emotion so he would not rage at that very moment.

It felt like decades when Akihito fell silent, the only sounds that echoed in the space was his sobbing, and it wasn't really a big deal. For what felt like forever, Asami finally let out a sigh before pushing Akihito a bit to give some space between them.

His eyes automatically scanned the blond up and down; his trembling figure, his rather messed-up appearance, everything.

Even though his tongue held a thousand words, Asami wisely chose to say nothing. Quietly, he put both hands under Akihito's armpits before easily lifting him up, placing him on the seat beside him. Akihito didn't dare to look up anymore, and Asami didn't seem to want it either.

So along the long journey there they sat, silently waiting and seeking for another person to speak up, but no one dared, leaving a million questions left unsaid.

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is such a short chapter, but I really feel like I need to stop right there as to not ruin the next chapter (which I have planned ahead, lmao).  
> I think the next chapter would be the end of this story, and I truly hope I could finish it before New Year. Yosh!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> self-beta'd. excuse any grammatical mistakes!

One Year Later

 

\---

 

It was another sunny day in Tokyo, where the sun peeked from the clouds above the crowded and busy street. Welcoming the warming sun light, the people began to start their day, some opened up their shops, some readied themselves to go to work or school, but there were also some that chose to bundle up in their blankets to get more sleep, and Takaba Akihito was probably included in the last group of  ‘some’ that was mentioned before.

His annoying giant clock had hit the perfect 9 am, but he still couldn’t find it in him to wake up and move to start his day. _No, not just yet_. He still needed more rest. Yesterday was so hectic at work he rarely had his break. He didn’t know why but his boss seemed to be chasing his ass this past year.

And that was one sole reason why he had stubbornly ignored these few miscalls he received from this very same boss since… probably dawn.

It was the annoying sun ray that appropriately shot him right on his still closed eyes that forced him to finally wake up, to at least close the window more appropriately so he could go back to sleep without being interrupted by anymore harsh lights.

Just as he was about to stand up, a distinctive sound came from his laptop, and from that sound he just knew instantly that he just got a new Skype message from his friend, Takato.

Lazily and sleepily, Akihito forced himself to walk straight to his desk, dragging his heavy feet towards the shining monitor that looked too eye-blinding in the darkness that surrounded it. Before he leaned in to look closer, the blond took his time to shut his eyes, counting to five, before opening them up again, trying to at least adjust his eyes to the harsh and sudden light that came from the monitor. As he had finally brought himself to read the message, another distinctive sound came from the same application, jerking him out of his bones when suddenly Takato video called him. Akihito could only sigh before finally taking up the call, only to be faced with Takato’s whole family.

His eyes looked at each faces of his audience; there was obviously Takato, a smiling Kaede, and two small kids, who looked like no more than one year old. Upon seeing the smile of that small family, Akihito smiled back, before finally taking a seat right in front of his laptop, sleep had long forgotten in his active mind.

“Yo, Aki!” Takato started, “you look like hell! What time is it right there?”

“It’s 9 in the morning you idiot,” Akihito laughed, “seriously, from the moment you arrived there until today, all you have been asking to me is ‘what time is it’. Man, I know there’s a time difference and you’re so excited about learning it, but could you stop it?”

Kaede elbowed her husband from his side, “Just ignore him, Aki,” the woman then smiled, “how are you? It’s been a year, huh? Since the last time we met.”

The question caught him off guard a little bit, but he somehow managed to cover up his surprise, “I’m great, perfectly fine and healthy as you can see here,” he then let out a chuckle, “what about you guys? It seems a family holiday has prevented you from contacting me. I know New York’s good and all, but don’t forget about Tokyo!”

“Aw, Aki’s missing us! And by the way this is not a family trip. We moved here because of my job,” Takato sighed, “hey, it’s kinda hard for us to contact you. You rarely have your Skype on and phone credits are getting more and more expensive each year, you know that?”

“About being hard to contact, I’m sorry. Work’s been piling up and all…” the blond scratched the back of his head before continuing, “enough about me. What about the two babies?”

“Oh, you mean Haru and Yuki?” Kaede’s face suddenly lit up at the mention of her two children, “they are both super adorable and super healthy! Just look at these fluffy, puffy red cheeks!” she then brought up the children in question to show off, only to have her babies laughing at her own ridiculous action.

Both parties laughed at that, “Of course, I’m the great father who takes care of them. I assure you they would look cute even in their old days ahead!” Takato bragged.

“Whatever you say, Takato”, Akihito rolled his eyes. He then suddenly fell silent, as if thinking about his next words carefully, before finally opening up his mouth to speak it up, “but seriously guys... I still feel a little bit reluctant about giving Yuki in your care, I mean, you just have Haru at the moment and suddenly having two babies in a short time after becoming parents is-"

"Aki - chan", Kaede cut him off sternly and efficiently before beaming up a warm, motherly smile from her thin, pink lips, "we have talked about it so many times, right? Taking care of Yuki is our choice. As long as we could help you, we are willing to do anything."

"You saved us, Aki," Takato continued, suddenly sounding more serious than ever, "and Kaede also loves children so what's the bother?"

"But-"

"No buts.” the couple stopped him immediately, chuckling afterwards after realizing that they just said it at the very same time.

Akihito could only let out a sigh, before finally laughing along the couple on the other line. After that, they kept talking for around an hour, before Takato finally announced that his work was waiting and the call had to be cut off. As much as they loved talking to each other, the call had to end.

When he was finally alone, Akihito glued his forehead on the desk, and closed his eyes, mind wandering off somewhere far. It was against his will when suddenly a wave of flashback washed over him, bringing up some painful and unwanted memories to his head.

 _"Where's Yuki?”_ he heard his own voice demanded in the back of his mind.

" _She is with Yoh. She will be brought to an orphanage later.”_ another voice, a familiar baritone this time.

_"You cannot just do that! You heartless bastard! She is still a fucking baby!"_

He remembered how gold that man's eyes were when he reacted to his curses. He remembered how those arching eyebrows shot down immediately when he yelled at him. He remembered, all of that he remembered.

_"I'm gonna take her with me!"_

Something clenched his heart painfully as the flashback ended, all of the sudden he wanted to cry again, for whatever reason. He didn't know why but Asami looked very angry at that time, as if he was trying to cage up the beast inside him that was going to eat Akihito alive.

But after that, Akihito was glad (but also a little bit surprised) that the older man let him go. They didn't contact each other after that, thinking that that accident was what sealed their ending together; a good separation.

A familiar sound of purring that came from the living room surprised him, but it didn't take long for him to identify just who it was. Smiling, he dragged his feet through the little distance he had between him and the bedroom door and walked towards the living room, only to find Shige whining on the couch, scrapping the little life it had just because he was desperate for breakfast.

"Stop that, you bad kitty. I'm gonna make your breakfast right now so stop scratching my precious couch with your long claws.” Akihito spat playfully as he dashed towards the kitchen to grab a box of Shige's favorite meal in the cupboards.

Seeing the action, Shige mewled happily, before rolling his belly on the couch to show his owner that he was such a good boy.

It was not that long for the blond human to come back to the couch to bring his meal with a cup of milk in his other hand, seemingly intended to watch the TV while sitting on the couch beside him. Shige didn't really care about the couch anymore as he jumped onto the floor; scurrying to where his meal was placed not too far from the seating.

Drinking up his morning milk, Akihito effectively grabbed the remote and turned on his old yet still efficiently working TV. It was Sunday morning and he knew there was nothing that entertaining to watch but he still tried anyway. His thumb stopped flipping the channel at one point, however, as he stopped at one news channel that was currently highlighting the death of a familiar politician to him.

Yamamoto Saki.

_"After a year of disappearance, the police have finally found our upcoming politician, Yamamoto Saki, dead in his own manor not too far from Tokyo. The cause of death is still unclear, for the corpse is found in the basement of his home, but the police are still trying to find more evidence regarding this. Now going on to the next..."_

Akihito couldn't really believe what he just heard. _Dead?_ He knew Asami was going to shoot him at that time, but he had never expected that the man would go as far as to kill him. His hands turned jelly as his whole body fell onto the couch, eyes wide in both disbelief and fear. Just how dark that man is? Akihito thought, still trying to grasp onto the fact that the same mysterious man that most likely would be the suspect of Yamamoto's unknown death was also the man who had had once live under the same roof as him.

 _What a complicated life..._ Akihito contemplated, as he once again tried to rest both his eyes and his mind under the spell called sleep.

But as the sleep was about to claim him, his telephone suddenly rang, rudely interrupted the calmness and the silence he had around his apartment that were once encouraged him to sleep. Now wide awake, Akihito cursed aloud as he stomped his way loudly towards the phone, grumpily answering the call, he spoke, "You know what? This is a freaking Sunday morning and all I have been wishing for is to have a good nice sleep until tomorrow!"

"Not even if I have a big, nice, chunky assignment for you?” a familiar voice replied, and all of the sudden Akihito's turned paler.

"B-Boss?” he hesitantly called.

"Indeed I am, Takaba Akihito - san," he smoothly answered, not even bothering to hide the sarcasm that was thick in the tip of his tongue, "so where was I? Oh, yes. I have an assignment for you, and I am sure as hell it would take you years to not accept this, because this is juicy as fuck."

Akihito hesitated, "But boss? I remembered that I told you I would take a day off today-"

"Have you paid your rent this month?"

The blond flustered, "Umm... No, I haven't..."

His boss immediately sounded more confident than before as he responded, "If you could do this right, you could pay your rent for a whole year ahead, or maybe, buy that latest Cannon you have been drooling these past six months.", he faked a sigh, "but I think I will just pass this up on someone else... You sounded too tired earlier-"

"I will do it!” Akihito's face suddenly lit up, his eyes shone bright at the idea of buying a new camera, "Just text me the details, old man!"

"Alright! That's my Takaba boy!"

 

\---

 

It was against his judgment to work wearing a formal suit and a business working bag, looking like a normal businessman that wasn't him. It was against his judgment to work not mainly using his camera, but instead using a paper and a pen instead, with some questions printed on the very same paper he held in his hand. And it was also against his sane judgment to stand before one of the highest building in Tokyo, called Sion, where some big, tough guards in black guarded the front of the main entrance, to interview the owner of this building, Asami Ryuuichi.

Akihito had known he was stupid, but right after he received the text containing all the details of his next work, he knew he was screwed up because he was also reckless at choosing his job. Many 'should have's had popped up in his mind so many times he lost count on it, but he knew it was far too late to regret everything, now that he had stood in front of the building that had Asami in it.

 _"I don't know if I'm lucky or not, but Asami - san himself asked to be interviewed yesterday! And since I know that you have been targetting him lately, I wisely give this opportunity to you, Takaba!"_ , his boss had excitedly spoke through the text message, making Akihito more reluctant to refuse the job.

_Everything’s going to be alright, Aki. You come here to do the job, and you’ll do it professionally. Just do the interview calmly and everything will be alright._

He kept chanting those like some prayer inside his mind, and thankfully, it truly did calm his raging heartbeat just a little bit. Not the right amount he had hoped for, but at least that was better than nothing. After exhaling a calming breath or two, Akihito straightened up his stance and walked forward, trying to look as confident as possible.

It was kind of nerve-wrecking to be stared down by the judging eyes of the guards, but once Akihito showed them his business card and told them about the appointed meeting with his boss, after some security check-ups, they easily let him in.

When he finally got in, he was immediately welcomed by the sight of a possibly one of the most expensive-looking night club. The dance floor, the bar, all the seating, basically everything, screamed both money and luxury. He honestly felt a little lucky that he accepted this job, for he could get this once in a lifetime opportunity to get a single glimpse of what is the inside of the so-called Sion night club that everyone had been talking about.

He was immediately jerked out of his musings when suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder. Too surprised and too panic to think, Akihito cautiously turned his back around, only to be faced by another tall, big goon dressed in a black suit, wearing a pair of glasses, and holding something that looked like a mini note in one hand. Identifying the man as one of the staffs of the company, Akihito immediately straightened up his posture to let the other party know that he was there for business.

“Takaba Akihito – san, is it?” the goon spoke, his voice unsurprisingly low and throaty. Akihito could only numbly nodded, before the man continued, “an interview with Asami – sama at 4, yes? Please follow me.”

The man didn’t even give Akihito another chance to speak as he immediately went on his way towards the corridor that was a little bit hidden, right behind the bar. Totally oblivious to the area of the building, the blond didn’t have any other choice than to follow the guard to wherever he was taking them to.

The journey surprisingly didn’t take that long. After taking an elevator up, Akihito was immediately greeted by the sight of an office floor, complete with the bustling sound of people walking back and fro, seemingly busy in their own little world. The guard that guided him all along immediately took another walk, and the blond could only helplessly followed him as they walked through the crowd, ripping their way through the busy people that didn’t seem to really notice a new guest in their office arrangement.

It didn’t bother Akihito the slightest, really, because he felt better being unnoticed rather than coming in announced. Nah, that would make him feel awkward and that probably is the worst.

Akihito flinched a little when the man in front of him suddenly halted his movement, indicating that they had arrived at their destination. The blond respectively backed away a bit when the goon took the liberty of knocking the door, announcing their arrival.

The familiar voice then immediately echoed from inside, "come in."

Akihito involuntarily let out a pleasant sigh as he heard that voice, the voice that he had silently yearning for all this time. He was weak down to his knees but he immediately straightened up when the man in black in front of him abruptly took a turn to face him, nodding a bit to indicate that they were going in. As the guard took the job of turning down the handle as well, Akihito could only stare at the hand holding the metal handle tensely. He knew what was coming, but he wasn't really sure if he's ready for it or not...

It was too late to think about anything else as the door to the room opened, revealing a spacious, stylish office with a single man sitting behind his desk in the middle of the room. Upon entering the room, Akihito took the chance to marvel at how cool the room looked to him. It was basically everyone's dream office. Something that tapped on his shoulder jerked him out from his thoughts, and he immediately refocused his vision on the one guard that had been guiding him earlier.

The bespectacled guy surprisingly only tapped his shoulder twice before going on his way, leaving the office wordlessly with the sound of a 'click' from the door closing.

Now finally alone with the man that had been invading his rational mind and dream this past year, the tension finally seeped into him, and suddenly he felt that it was impossible for him to move. His hazel eyes ran upwards, accidentally meeting up with the golden ones that had stared at him for some quiet time now. Once they met, it was admittedly hard for him to break the eye-contact, as if the stare he received had effectively paralyzed him completely. It was not until he heard a made-up cough did he finally catch himself up, moving closer towards the black haired man who immediately told him to sit at the reserved seat in front of him.

“Takaba Akihito,” Asami started, his baritone voice echoing in the silent room, “it is such a pleasure to be interviewed by a young journalist such as you.”

“Thank you for the compliment… sir.” Akihito politely countered back, not really knowing where to look at.

It was… illegally awkward, and tensed. If Akihito could wish for anything, he would really want to escape this situation, but hell, professionalism had trapped him completely. Hesitantly, he took hold of a mini-camera he had in his business bag, before carefully asking, “Um, is it okay if I take some pictures of you? It is needed in the article later.”

The answer truly caught him off-guard.

“Of course it is,” the golden-eyed man replied calmly, “that’s the whole point of this whole interview right? Exposing me to the public.”

The hold he had on his camera tightened at the answer. After all this time the man had hidden himself from the media, he suddenly wanted to expose it all? To tell the world who he was? All questions spun around in Akihito’s head he couldn’t really take it to think about them all, so he just stuck with the reality that was going on at that moment and continued to do his job.

Snap. A picture came out in the viewfinder perfectly; the strong, chiseled jaw, the arched eyebrows, the slim yet strong lips, the gorgeously sculptured nose, and those mesmerizing golden eyes. The blond didn’t really know if what was shown in the viewfinder was the picture of a human or perfection anymore. Asami Ryuichi simply looked inhumanly magnificent.

His hazel eyes couldn’t help but marvel at the photo for longer than necessary. As a photographer he couldn’t really deny such beauty to pass. But then the intense stare that was sent by the man from the picture had successfully brought him back from his high, and Akihito nervously got back down to business.

“O-Okay, now I will get back to the interview,” Akihito let out a nervous laugh before looking at the mini note containing all the questions that were prepared by his boss, “so, um, first question. When is your birthday?” _huh? These questions sound personal…_

“4th August.” Asami answered sternly, not really surprised by the question that was given to him.

“What is your favorite brand of suit?”

“Armani.”

“Besides Sion, what is another famous club around here that you manage?”

“Dracaena.”

“Any typical food that you dislike?”

“Sweets.”

“What is your favorite animal to pet?”

It took awhile before the businessman answered, “Cats.”

Akihito gritted his teeth for a moment before continuing down the ridiculous questions, “What is your favorite food?”

“I basically like old traditional Japanese food, but currently,” he stopped for a sec, as if thinking and choosing for his next words before he continued, “I’m into _miso_ soup.”

At that, the blond didn’t dare to look up anymore as he continued the remaining questions. He didn’t want to sound so overconfident about himself but the way Asami answered all these personal questions… it felt as if the older man was calling out for him. But Akihito immediately brushed off that thought. _Get over yourself, Aki. There’s no fucking way this man is thinking of you that way. He was just using you for his advantages, remember?_

As he busied himself with writing down the short answers the older man gave him, he didn’t realize that time had passed quicker than he had thought and that they had reached the last question. It was against his sane mind when suddenly there was this thing inside him that wanted this session to last longer, for him to stay longer. He could even feel the reluctance he used when he read the last question, and he hated himself for it.

Akihito didn’t even really give it a thought or two when he spoke up a new question, in which, was not in the list at all, “Do you have anything to do with Yamamoto Saki’s recent death?” he just realized his mistake soon after he had said it out loud, but seriously, he didn’t have any intention of ever taking it back.

Sure enough, Asami arched a confused eyebrow at that, before replying smoothly, “Is that question listed there?”

“Not really, sir. That question is honestly from my own.” Akihito countered back as soon as the chance to speak was given to him. For a moment, he didn’t feel really scared for whatever reaction Asami was going to give him. He was curious, and his curiosity always wins, all the time he almost hated to admit it.

Something inside him wanted to confirm it. To confirm what, he didn’t know. Surely, Asami would most likely be the suspect of the politician’s death, but Akihito wanted to know the real truth coming out from the man’s very mouth. He hated to admit it but something inside him still wanted to believe that Asami was always the same man as Ryu, the man who had made him feel at home, the man that had showed him the feeling of affection, longing, loneliness, needing, even without intending to. The same man that had held him tight, kissed him intensely, and embraced him like no other. Something, inside him, wanted to believe that.

It took a minute or two before Asami answered, “Since it’s not in the list of the question, I think I don’t have any obligation to answer that.”

Akihito couldn’t really argue against that, “I… I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t even think about that,” his eyes then drifted upwards, as if searching for the right set of sentences to say next, “but, may I ask you one more question?”

“Of course, but my decision to answer or not depends on what your question is.”

At that, Akihito inhaled a breath, before exhaling quietly. He shot his glance back onto his talking partner, and with a strengthened determination, the blond finally let out the question that had been budging him since the moment he received this weird assignment, “You have been hiding from the media for so long, and yet you suddenly ask my boss to exclusively hold an interview to expose yourself. Why?”

It surprised him down to his bones when Asami moved, placing both his arms onto the mahogany desk that’s in front of him before supporting his strong jaw on top of his knuckles. This way, the stare Asami was giving him was even more intense, and he could feel his cold-sweat dripping down his forehead at any second, “why, you ask.”

Akihito didn’t dare to response at that, afraid that if he did, the man would change his mind and choose to not answer his question instead. The blond waited, for how long he didn’t know. The tension swallowed them both as the seconds ticked away; minutes went by so fast he didn’t even realize it.

It was at the moment where Asami finally opened his mouth to speak did the time slowed instantly.

“Would you believe me if I tell you that it’s because I want to see you?”

The pen that Akihito had been holding for dear life suddenly fell onto the polished marble floor, and that was what jerked Akihito out from his state-of-speechlessness. Flustered, the blond hastily bent down to take the pen back into his hold before shoving it into his bag messily, along with notes that contained all about their whole interview. He was intending to leave, “Um, it’s nice to do an interview with you sir. I’m so sorry for taking up your time. Pleasure doing business with you!” after bowing lower than necessary, Akihito jumped out from his seat before turning around abruptly, immediately dashing towards the welcoming exit without a single command.

His heart skipped a beat when suddenly a strong palm shot from behind him, slapping right at the cool surface of the office door that was right in front of him. Cold-sweat was now openly dripping down his cheeks as his skin paled, not even daring to find out just whose hand it was. Akihito involuntarily shivered as a deep, baritone voice whispered directly into his ear, “why are you running away, Takaba?”

The blond felt his knees weakened as his heart hammered painfully inside his chest, his mind spinning around to find some relevant answer, “T-The interview is finished, sir, and I don’t think that my presence is needed-“

His breath was caught in his throat when suddenly, two strong arms circled around his waist to lock him against his offender. He could feel everything; Asami placing his jaw on his shoulder, Asami kissing his neck, Asami breathing down an air down his ear, everything. Akihito closed his eyes to calm the high that was trying to overcome him. _Keep it cool Aki. Professionalism. He is trying to lure you in. Don’t give in-_

“I want to see you,” Asami spoke quietly, “I do not really know why but not having you beside me brings me so much uneasiness.”

“What? Because I am a useful pawn to you?!” Akihito broke, flipping his body around to glare at the man directly in the eye, his suitcase falling down loudly, “do you have fun? Playing with me like this, do you have your fun?! Is it fun playing with people’s feelings like this? Don’t you dare say something like that if you don’t really mean it. I have had enough Asami!”, he yelled, though something didn’t feel right as his heart didn’t calm down, it hammered even stronger than before instead, “do you know how hard it is for me to finally trust someone? And when I finally did, you ridiculously betrayed me, lied to me. Just how fucking great is our Asami Ryuichi _sama_.”

Asami surprisingly kept his mouth shut, and just listened to the younger one’s continuous ranting, “I hate you, get it? I don’t want to see you. So let go of me!” he spat, hands on the businessman’s chest to push him away.

But instead of obeying, Asami only strengthened up the hold he had on the blond, pulling him closer than before even. Akihito was about to protest but his curses immediately died on his tongue when the black-haired man caressed his cheek and leaned in, sealing the other’s lips with his own for a mesmerizing kiss.

The photographer couldn’t really hold himself up for too long because those lips had effectively taken his rational thoughts away. That lips, _oh God that lips_ , he groaned. It was the pair of lips that he had longed for, that had haunted him with its warmth and texture; that he had missed for so long. It was kind of understandable that when that lips finally touched down on his, he could only let out a pleasant sigh and got drunk in that kiss. With Asami expertly supporting his weight, Akihito subconsciously wounded both his arms around the man’s neck, and clung even closer onto him. The skilled lips kissed him passionately, as if the world is going to disappear tomorrow.

Being held in that warm embrace he had dreamed all this time, Akihito melted into it, not really realizing that he had done the exact opposite of his statements earlier.

Considering the lack of oxygen, Asami wisely yet slowly let go, still holding up the blond whose body felt like jelly now. It was kind of an arousing site when Akihito brought his blushing face up, perfect with those hazy eyes and wet, plump lips, but Asami tried to not think too deeply about that.

Akihito, who just came back from his high, immediately pushed the older man away as strong as he could muster up. Showing a face of disgust, the blond wiped his lips with his sleeves, and hastily bent down to pick his fallen suitcase, “I hate you!” he shouted, before turning his back to leave.

A hand suddenly caught his, and the thin thread of Akihito’s patience was snapping in the back of his mind. When he turned his back again to curse at the man again, Asami simply handed him his business card, and as he stared him right in the eye with those artsy golden irises of his, he spoke, “If you ever change your mind, do not hesitate to give me a call.”

And after that, Akihito really went his way, running away from the office and from Asami. And Asami Ryuichi let him go, for now.

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good news. I have decided to let this play out a little longer, lmao!  
> after reading some comments on the last chapter, I have decided to prolong the story juust a little bit. I don't know, I want to play with this train of feels first before ending this story completely, haha  
> and a quick update! wow! I feel so proud of myself:'D finally doing something productive instead of bundling myself in blanket all day!  
> I do not own the Finder Series.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> self-beta'd, so excuse any grammatical errors!

It was kind of depressing watching the rain pouring down hard from the earlier sunny sky above, as well as seeing the drastic decrease of the amount of patients the family clinic had that day. Deciding that the rain wouldn't cease anytime soon, the young doctor slowly stood up from his comfortable work seat inside his room and chose to stop hoping for any more patient to come anytime soon. As the umpteenth rain hit the cold surface of the window in front of his working desk, Kou took off his medical white coat before putting it loose on the desk, deciding wisely that it would be best for him to spend his free time in the living room instead.

It was only him in the house that day. The reason was simple; his parents were going on their hundredth honeymoon (for whatever reason it was the _hundredth_ ), and he was left alone running the family business as a doctor. He protested at first, but seeing that they had been distant with each other because of their busy schedule, he would rather kill himself than preventing that love-struck couple from being intimate with each other.

_Maybe I should get a girlfriend..._ He mused, as he idly played with the remote he had in his hand.

It amazed him somehow that even though the rain outside was harsh and loud, he could still hear the weak knocks from his front door. His eyes ran towards the object instantly, curious to the mysterious visitor that had fought against the harsh rain just to meet the owner of the house, which in this case, him.

Curiosity won over laziness; the young doctor got up from his seat and strode towards the front door, immediately opening up the door the moment his hand took a grip on the doorknob. His eyes were blown wide as shock overcame his senses; the one who stood in front of him was none other than his blond childhood friend, Takaba Akihito, in a suit, and drenched from the tip of his feet to the tiny strand of his hair. Something inside fell to the lowest pit of his stomach with a loud thud when his eyes caught the sight of those unusually empty, lost hazel eyes that stared straight back to him wordlessly.

With uncomfortable awkwardness clouding around them, Kou decided respectively to usher his drenched friend inside, afraid that he would be responsible for a possible flu that might overcome the blond if he stayed out in the cold for too long.

"What the fuck, mate...", Kou started as he rushed to get a towel from the nearest cabinet, "why do you come looking like that?", he then threw the towel right towards the blond who stood at the center of the living room, "c'mon, dry yourself."

As if on command, Akihito did as he was told, drying his wet hair with the provided towel that landed perfectly on top of his head. Kou was left speechless as he watched the blond dried himself, various scenarios going around his mind.

It was seconds later after he finished drying up did he finally speak up, "I...” he hesitated, "I don't know why I came here... I just- did."

It was so damn unusual that it started to creep the doctor out. Sighing he told the blond to sit, "What happened?” he started, too straight to the point he even surprised himself.

Akihito didn't seem to be concerned by his straightforwardness as he answered, "I cannot really tell you the actual situation... It's just that...” a grunt was heard under his breath before he continued, louder this time, "ah, fuck it! I'm just gonna tell you straight out."

Kou was all ears at that, leaning forward curiously at the blond who was sitting in front of him, "I'm listening."

Akihito surprisingly took a deep breath in before letting it out; closing his eyes as he enjoyed the calmness that rapidly overwhelmed him as soon as he exhaled. He fluttered his hazel eyes then, eyeing his talking partner as he finally opened his mouth to speak, the frown never leaving his lips, "There’s this one guy who lived with me for a couple of weeks-“

“Really?”, Kou cut in, a surprise expression drawn over his face, “that explains the horrible smell of cigarettes then.”

Akihito ignored the mention of ‘cigarettes’ as he continued, “Yeah, and then, sometime after, he left.”, at that, the frown he had below his nose deepened, as if he was deep in thought, leaving Kou who was still sitting in reality.

The doctor was about to question him, but the blond raced him before he could mutter a single word, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because of my clumsy actions or stupid choices he… he turned out to be someone who…”, he hesitated, “…I detest.”

“What?”, that came quicker than anyone could have expected, “I don’t understand. If you hate him you should have identified him the moment he stepped into your home, or moreover, why the heck would you let someone you hate live with you?”

Akihito sighed, “It’s complicated! I told you I cannot really tell you the actual situation!”

“So the problem is?”, Kou shot back, eyes glinting with confusion.

It took him several seconds to gain back his thoughts. Akihito took another deep breather before finally speaking up, “I hate him, alright. And I know from the start that this guy has this evil intention to use me or something, and I have told him straight in the face that I’m not gonna play in his game,” he held his head in another thought, “is it normal for me to get more angry when he told me that he wants to see me?”

That last sentence caught Kou off guard. He let out a nervous cough before leaning forward, eyes focused on his friend as he spoke quietly, “I’m sorry but… he wants to see you as in… romantically? Or… did I just hear it wrong?”

Something ached in his heart as he heard the word ‘romantic’. Knowing that his friend suggested him as ‘romantic’ just went against his policy, “I don’t know. But he said he wants to see me,” he let out another sigh, “probably just another excuse for wanting to use me back.”

“Okay let’s just get back to yourself first,” Kou started, slowly starting to understand the situation, “why would you get more angry at him just because he wants to see you?”

“’just because’?!”, at that, Akihito immediately ran his eyes upwards, auto-focusing at the young doctor who had his eyebrows arched in confusion, “Of course I would be mad! After all I have already told him that I don’t want to see him, and yet he still doesn’t understand!”

“Then why would you get ‘more’ angry?”, Kou emphasized the word ‘more’ as he argued back, “you could just keep telling him to fuck off and I’m sure he would back off. Do you understand what I am questioning you about?”

“I understand, but-“, he cut off what he was saying abruptly, as if something disturbed his mind as he talked, “It just irritates me more that he doesn’t learn anything.”

Kou took a moment to inspect his face for a little bit, and after a few seconds, he finally asked, “Does he… mean something to you?”

“Of course not!”, he suddenly shouted in denial, a bit of his voice breaking, “why would you say that?!”

“Because from my point of view, you’re just—I’m sorry—overreacting towards this simple problem. You know, you shouldn’t have stressed yourself so much just because he—as you had suggested—wanted you back to be his pawn. I mean, you could just say no and be done with him and everything will be solved.” He stopped for a moment, before finally speaking in a lower voice, “but then you decide to come here to talk about it with me. Really, historically speaking, you would only come to me whenever you have a problem you could never solve alone, and here you are.”

Before Akihito could respond, Kou spoke again, as if summing up his theory, “You wouldn’t stress yourself so much about him if he doesn’t mean anything to you.”

His lips trembled then, as if wanting to fight that statement off, but nothing came out. He hung his head low as he tried to digest what his friend’s had suggested, but something stubborn in him just didn’t want to surrender to his strong principle.

Seeing the internal battle Akihito had with himself, Kou decided to help, “You told me that you didn’t know that he is the one you detest after several weeks you lived with him. And then you told me you hate him. What makes you angry in the first place?”

Silently, Akihito answered, “…because I feel betrayed.”

“Betrayed?”, Kou gasped, another hypothesis popping up in his head, “why betrayed?”

“Because at first, he acted like he cared for me. And I- I stupidly fell for his stupid act,” Akihito finally revealed some more, “I feel betrayed when he finally revealed himself as someone I hate.”

Kou was in another deep state of thinking, “Have you ever listened to his reasons for betraying you?”

“Now, tell me a good reason on why I should listen to him,” Akihito shot back, eyes sharpening a hot glare he didn’t realize he could muster, “why would I listen to someone that has obviously betrayed me for no good reason?”

Kou leaned forward, his temper slowly building inside his body, “Hey, hey, just chill. Calm down and listen to me,” he let out a sigh to calm himself before speaking, “I don’t know if this will be a good example for you, but let me just say this: it’s like diagnosing a patient, you know?”

Akihito slowly tilted his head sideways, not understanding the point of his friend’s talking. When Kou considered the look Akihito threw at him as pure confusion, he continued, “Like, it’s not like I could diagnose a patient with TBC just because he just coughed in front of me or something, you know? I mean…”, those black eyes ran upwards, searching just the right words to emphasize his point, “Before diagnosing an illness, not only do I have to check the symptoms which is visible for the eye, I also have to ask the patient about what he is feeling inside. Because, even though I’m a doctor, I just can’t guess what that illness is doing into the patient’s body, you know?”

“Let’s just say that, you’re the doctor, the illness is his betrayal, and the patient is him,” Kou finally searched for those hazel eyes that had somehow looked better than before after hearing him out wholly, “I know you got bad grades and all, but I don’t think you are that stupid to not catch what I just explained to you.”

Kou knew his words had this positive effect on the blond when the color of those supposedly bright pupils was finally collected back into his eyes. He smiled when Akihito slowly stood up, before picking up his suitcase and wordlessly walked towards the genkan. The doctor respectively stood up and asked, “where are you going?”

As he wore his shoes back, Akihito replied, “You know what? I really hate myself right now.”

“And why is that?”, Kou countered, an eyebrow arched out of confusion.

The blond slowly turned his head around before replying, “Because even though I just ranted to you about how much I hated him down to the core, after you consoled me earlier, I just can’t help but wanting to clear this with him,” he exhaled a deep breath to continue, “I don’t know how this will end, but I will try anyway,” at that, he turned his attention back towards the exit, “thanks, Kou.”

“No problem, brother,” Kou smiled, “Good luck.”

 

* * *

 

It was a half past ten when he had finally come out of the shower with his phone in his hand in the middle of his living room. With Shige fast-asleep on his lap, Akihito debated with himself on whether he should call the number that was printed on the business card he received in Sion today or not for the umpteenth time. With each minutes slowly passing him by, Akihito unconsciously got even more nervous for no apparent reason, at least for him. He had typed the number on his phone and it would only take him less than a second to hit the call button, but something inside him kept on restraining him from doing so.

_What if he hates me? But he said I should call if I change my mind, right?_ He repeated those questions over and over as if asking it would get some rational answer from out of nowhere.

With a new determination built inside him, Akihito finally braced himself when his thumb finally hit on that goddamn button. Cold-sweat slid down from his temples down to his cheeks when he stuck the phone onto his right ear, his heartbeat matching the rhythm of the ringtone as he waited for the other party to pick up the call. It took a tensed five rings for the receiver to finally accept the call, connecting Akihito to the number that he had contemplated on calling several times just minutes ago.

His heart felt like it would jump out of his chest when the ring tone stopped. He felt his mouth getting numb when prepared himself to speak, but the other person seemed to have successfully raced him when he greeted first, “ _hello._ ”

Something felt off. _This isn’t him…_ Akihito thought, judging by the different kind of baritone that greeted him. It was weird that even though it had been a year since they had last spoken for a long period, he still remembered just how exactly Asami sounded like, and this voice just didn’t match. The blond took the phone off for awhile to examined the number, in case he had typed it wrong, but after double-checking it, Akihito stuck the phone to his ear again as he realized that he had indeed put the correct number, “um… I’m Takaba Akihito and I would like to speak to Asami Ryuichi. Um…”, he didn’t know what else to say. Should I ask who this is? But wouldn’t that be rude? I mean I’m a nobody to Asami and for that I don’t have the authority to—

“Oh, Takaba – san,” it kind of catching him off guard when that voice sounded way too glad to know it was him who called, “You may or may not remember me but I am Kirishima Kei, Asami – sama’s personal secretary. I am terribly sorry but Asami – sama is currently unavailable at the moment.”

Akihito held in the thick disappointment that might layers his voice as he replied, “But… but I need to speak with him I—“, he held in a deep breath as he continued, louder than before, “I want to talk to him. Please, tell him that.”

Hearing the slight pleading in his voice, the secretary only let out a sigh. Clearing his throat for better talking, he responded, “He may not be available for phone calling, but I believe I can arrange a meeting for you tonight, is that okay?”

Akihito didn’t know why but a wave of huge relieve washed over him it scared him. It scared him at how just the thought of going to meet Asami made him extremely excited. It scared him at how he totally anticipated this.

“Yes, I would like that! Thank you!”, Akihito beamed into the phone, before ending the call.

  

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a long, long time since my last update, and for that, I'm so sorry-_-". It's just that, high school's been hectic af and I just can't find any spare time to sit down and write this... cliche reason I would say. but besides that, this chapter can be counted as one of the hardest chapters that I have to write. Really, it is so hard for me to finish this, and I doubted to update this at first because I could still feel that there's something off with this (but personally I don't know what lmao), and because of that, pls tell me any kind of mistakes or errors that I have made unconsciously so I could edit this!
> 
> I do not own the Finder Series.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> self-beta'ed, possible grammatical mistakes.  
> enjoy!

It was almost midnight but not a single phone call had he received from the secretary that he had called hours ago. With minutes ticking by at the clock on the wall, Akihito subconsciously grew restless—it was against his conscious mind when he started to stand up and pace around the room. He bit his lips in worry as he checked his phone for the umpteenth time that hour—still, no calls, no texts, no any kind of signal whatsoever from the other side.

 _What if this is just a prank?_ Akihito mused, indirectly pushing down his built-in confidence earlier. _What if Asami doesn’t want to meet me? What if the reason why that secretary hasn’t called me is because Asami doesn’t want to have a rendezvous with me?_ Those thoughts kept circling inside his mind he was unintentionally going insane. Tired, the blond decided to take his spot on the couch back as he sat down, eyebrows arched down in a manner of thinking with an impossible pair of wrinkle gracing his feature at his forehead.

Meanwhile, Shige was confused—way too confused for its liking. It wanted to help, wanted to know what’s bothering its owner’s mind; but tough luck, it wasn’t good at judging human’s mind, and its owner knew it too well he didn’t even try to talk to it about his problems. So, feeling rather offended by its owner silent treatment, Shige slowly crawled towards his lap, trying its best to somehow catch his owner’s attention.

With the cat’s undeniable softness and alluring charm, Akihito was successfully enchanted, and Shige was immediately proud with itself with the desired result. Its big, rounded, glazy pair of eyes observed his human as he stared at it, unblinking with his striking hazel eyes.

It caught the cat off-guard when the human gave it a slow smile and a gentle hold below its armpits. Within seconds, Shige was already up in the air, with its eyes in the same level as his owner’s.

“What is it, Shige?” Akihito asked, “are you hungry or something?”

As the answer of ‘no’, Shige showed the perfect personification of a human’s way of saying no, and that was to feign ignorance. The cat casually threw its face away to one side as it showed its disinterest, and Akihito giggled a little because apparently, his pet wanted to play the guess-and-answer game with him.

 “So you’re not hungry, huh…” the blond ran his eyes to one side as he contemplated on what to answer next, “and you don’t look sleepy at all. So…” he took a moment, and when he finally found the perfect set of words he wanted to say, he spoke, “I think you want me to… play with you?”

If Shige could face palm, it would. But sadly, its paws were unable to reach its face at the moment. So with a slight roll of eyes, the cat threw his face away again, now to the other side, _just for a nice change_ it thought.

Feeling his guess were incorrect, Akihito started to frown. He gently put the cat back on his lap as he stared at it, finally letting out a sigh he didn’t know he had been holding the entire time he was waiting.

With a slight scratch on the back of his head, the photographer opened his mouth once again, “I don’t… really know what you want right now, Shig. And I know this might be crazy but… can I just talk my problems to you…? I’m kinda frustrated right now and keeping it all inside my head isn’t really good for me.”

Surprisingly, he received quiet a reaction from the cat. Shige immediately looked up to him, eyes glazing with a new level of curiosity, while it propped itself on both of its little hands, ears perking up in a gesture of listening. Akihito looked at it, and immediately let out a huff of laugh. That laughter unfortunately didn't last long as the current situation came back to sink into his mind once again before engulfing the blond in the gloomy aura it brought along.

His hazel eyes dropped, along with the excitement that had long fallen onto the pit of his stomach, abandoned and rotten from the false hope he thought the secretary had given to him. With a slight sigh, the blond started, "It's weird how... How I have come to be so attached to someone,"

"Like, I have come to live my life this far, and never have I thought that I would think about someone this much.... Until now,"

"And he didn't seem to do any kind of effort to change me, you know? He just casually walked into my apartment—I'll admit that I permitted that—and before I even knew it, it's not only just my apartment he walked into, but also—my life."

Akihito stopped right there as the familiar aching feeling started blooming inside his chest the moment all the memories started to come back, rubbing his mind over and over again with its supposedly sweetness but in truth only brought pain, like rubbing a salt on a fresh wound. He kept on breathing to calm himself down, and as he had finally felt that ache stopped making itself known inside his chest, he continued, "He came into my life, alright? And I strangely permitted it. I—for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm not acting like my usual self, and it's only caused by one guy,"

"I unconsciously put everything that I am on the line—trust, heart, emotion—everything. It's as if everything that's been holding me from knowing another person has already been thrown into the wind, and I... I seemed to not care about that. I welcomed him—", he stopped, "—and for the first time in forever, I finally felt that my life was complete."

Shige kept on listening, but it started to grow a little bit cautious when it saw the tiny droplets of water that were silently dripping down its owner's cheeks, "And even though I have declared my hatred towards him throughout this time, I have never felt so lost and empty before. I—"

"—for the very first time in my life, I finally felt that I couldn't understand myself. I don't even know what I want, or the things that I am supposed to do. All these conflicts and dramas that kept coming to me were rooted from him, and maybe, just maybe, I am blaming it all on him,"

"And after all this time that we have been apart, I have only realized that the thing that I really want now...” he sucked in a deep breath, before finally letting out the words that were so heavy for him to pull out, "...is to go back to him."

By then, he didn't hold back his tears. He sobbed and cried his heart out, moaned even. Suddenly, he didn't even care about what he was mad about. He didn't care about the so-called pride he had kept up until then that's keeping him back from what he desired the most. The only thing that he wanted right then was to see him, to see Asami Ryuichi that he had missed.

His hope then fell onto his phone, the phone that had been silent this entire time. With each minutes passed, his hope, also, had ran thin.

It shocked him, but washed him in a wave of a huge relief as well, when finally, finally, the familiar tone that he had set as ringtone came awake, notifying him that there was an incoming calls coming from someone he hadn’t identified yet. With each centimeter he took towards his ringing device, the beating of his heart grew louder as well, making him weak in the knees. Cold-sweat started layering the dry surface of his forehead as he inched a little bit closer, his palm was already opened up in an attempt to grab it.

He almost cried a cry of joy when he saw the caller ID, and he was once again surprised by his own ability at the enormous speed he put on when he pressed the green button to answer, “He—hello?”

“Takaba – san,” came the hurried reply, “I am deeply sorry I cannot notify you sooner. It’s just that—“, it was weird when he heard the hesitation in the secretary’s voice, which sounded bold and certain in the earlier call, “We—we have encountered some problems that-“

“What problems?!” Akihito almost yelled at the phone, his mind creating several scenarios that he was too afraid to let out.

He heard a gulp, “Asami – sama has…”

 

* * *

 

He had never run that fast until that day. He felt his muscles aching, his lungs burning, his eyes watering, but none of those defeated the rushing of the blood that was pumped by his heart furiously. The beats—the beats felt like it would break his ribcage in a second, but Akihito didn’t really have a millisecond to care. All he was focused on was that one building whose address was rattled on hastily on the phone call, everything unnecessary forgotten on the way. With Shige tightly clutched on his chest, the blond took two steps at a time as his shoe soles stomped on the cold pavement.

His breath came out in a pale white huff as he looked up at the tall building that stood in front of him. Its skyscraper reaching into the sky, its edge couldn’t be seen with a naked eye. It was such a beauty that Akihito originally would kill to get a picture of, but seeing that he had a rather more urgent situation to face straight on, he didn’t take his sweet time admiring the architecture. Instead, he immediately took off into the building, and went straight to the reception desk that was right in the middle of—he was guessing—a lobby.

“Excuse me!” he called, in an attempt to catch the receptionist’s attention. And luckily, he did, “Um… I have an appointment with Asami Ryuichi. Could you—please—inform him regarding my arrival?”

He could see the slight disgust the woman threw at him, but it was quickly covered by a new business smile she plastered under her nose, “I am terribly sorry sir but, I have not been notified of a visitor of Asami – sama at the moment so—“

“Please!” Akihito raised his voice, his patience running thin within seconds, “Could you take me to him, please? It’s urgent!”

“Sir, once again…” she warned, “I have not been notified of your visit and therefore—“

“He is with me.”

A deeper voice that came from behind him made him flipped his whole body instantly, his eyes searching for the source of voice that immediately shut the woman up.

A figure of a man in suit, wearing a pair of glasses stood behind him; he defiantly intimidated him with his superior height. From behind those glasses, Akihito could see a pair of cold eyes; the kind of eyes that could freeze you up in a second if you ever have the mind to counter him. The man slowly walked towards the reception desk, shielding the blond away from the woman’s view, “Asami – sama has privately requested for his attendance. And it is pure my incompetence for not notifying you beforehand. For that, I deeply apologize.”

“Kirishima – san!” she half-shrieked, the shock and surprise were drawn perfectly on her make-up covered face, “Oh, it is no problem at all, sir!”

With a slight nod of a head, the man (which was called ‘Kirishima’ earlier) cued Akihito to follow him, so follow he did.

Kirishima then led them into an elevator, and respectively pressed the number of floor they were going up to. “I am sorry about not introducing myself earlier,” he paused to turn his head towards the blond, “I am Kirishima Kei, Asami – sama’s personal secretary and the one who called you.” He offered a hand to shake, and Akihito politely took that hand, “Takaba,” he replied, “Takaba Akihito.”

“Yes, I have heard quiet a lot about you.” When Akihito inclined his head a little bit to the side in confusion, the secretary immediately tried to explain, “Asami – sama talks about you. Not on many occasions, but once he talks, only a very important matter could stop him.”

Before Akihito could come down from his shock, the elevator let out a ‘ding’ to let them know that they had arrived at their desired floor. Without any further command, the photographer followed the secretary respectively. He didn’t pay close attention towards his surroundings; he was only focused on the wide back that still led him on the long corridor filled with—he guessed as—doors that led into important rooms. But that didn’t seem to be an important case right now.

With each step he took, he knew he was inching closer to where the man was—to where Ryu was. In an instant moment, every good time memories came crashing back into his mind as if it was urging him to go faster towards him. His heart hammered furiously inside him as the corridor slowly narrowed and focused on a door, a mahogany door that he sure as hell led into his final destination. Before he even realized it, the secretary in front of him had ceased from walking, and he stopped as well, purely on instinct.

The secretary opened his mouth to talk, but was immediately cut short by the blond who raced him, “Before we go in, I want to make sure of something.”, he re-adjusted his hands (which was holding Shige this whole time he was running and apparently, Kirishima had just noticed the white cat when he did that) before turning his whole attention towards the taller man, his hazel eyes glowed in the dimmed corridor with a kind of emotion that Kirishima couldn’t really catch at the moment, “Asami is… Asami is well, right?”

“I—I mean… the real situation isn’t as bad as you sounded like in the phone… right?”, there was this thick hesitation in his voice when he asked, and the secretary had to guess, that even though he brought up the question, he was too scared to hear the answer he had expected in the furthest corner of his mind.

“I assume…” he started, “it would be better if you find it out yourself, no?”

And without he could even muster up a protest, the mahogany door was pushed opened by Kirishima, revealing him a part of an expensive looking penthouse just behind the door. Akihito was too focused on taking in the new sight he just knew could be resided inside the giant building he didn’t even realized that he was already being pushed inside, and locked in by the secretary.

“Wha-?” Akihito let out a confused, quiet yell, before checking on the handle. Locked. _Great_. “Is this some kind of a joke?”, he huffed out irritatingly, before slowly putting Shige down on the floor, who looked a little bit sick from being held up for too long.

For the second time of that night, Akihito ran his eyes to take in as much surroundings as he could. In front of him laid a giant living room, complete with every kind of expensive-looking ornaments that graced one of the living arrangements in the penthouse. There were these tall, heavy glasses that separated the living room away from the balcony, the perfect view of the lovely city of Tokyo laid beneath it. Going to the right, his eyes met the sight of a simple kitchenette that contained many polished cooking tools, but as far as the eyes could see, there was no sign of veggies or meat, only bottles of whiskey and wines graced the kitchen desks. And to his left, there was this long corridor that was filled by several doors, but there was only one out of many that was opened.

And he bet it led to the master bedroom.

The blond hesitated at first, but seeing that there was no other way out other than ending this whole conflict by going into that room, he started to take several slow steps. He walked through the dimmed hall, passing not one, not two, but three mysterious doors and steadily went straight towards the door that was slightly left ajar for no apparent reason.

Akihito just needed three more steps to go inside, but his doubts and hesitations came back, haunting him and threatening him with the possibility that he couldn’t handle all the feelings that might wash over him again and possibly hurt the older man again like that other time. His knees grew weak, and he finally took the time to crouch down to calm himself. _Easy, there’s nothing to worry. Everything is going to be fine, no problem._

Finally, his feet swallowed the whole remaining steps, and before he even knew it, he was already standing in front of the room; the door was finally opened fully by then. His expressive hazel eyes took in the scenery, and it didn’t take him long to finally focused all his attention on the figure that was currently resting on the king-sized bed, duvet covering his whole massive figure.

Akihito subconsciously moved his body back into motion, his feet inching him closer towards the older man that was lying on the bed. His hands were desperately reaching for him, and when they finally did, there was this new kind of calmness that washed over him.

He rested his hand on the bulging muscle that was one of the man’s shoulders, and when Asami finally turned his body to face his offender, Akihito immediately pulled his hand back carefully.

The man—Asami Ryuichi—woke up rather hastily from his sleeping position; his body half-drenched in cold sweat as if he had just woken up from the worst nightmare.

Akihito took in every detail his eyes could detect from the sight in front of him. He could see his slightly pale face, a hint of sickness written all over his handsome face. He could also hear the slight cough in his voice when he talked, a perfect indication of a not-so-healthy throat right there.

The photographer kept on focusing on the finest details, but not once did he pay any attention towards his eyes, in which, was staring back at him at the moment.

Likewise, Asami did the same to Akihito—he stared at him, saving as much view as his brain could save up at the moment; his rounded face, his cupid-bow’s lips, his cute tiny nose, but most of all, his expressive hazel eyes. The kind of eyes that had haunted him in his every sleep; every night and day for weeks—years even. His hands ached to reach for him, to touch him, but bad experiences with it had restrained him from doing so for good.

And so he held his desires in—for good.

The both of them was silent for awhile, before Asami finally broke it for them, “Akihito?”, he called, not really noticing the slight tremble the blond did because he was currently feeling under the weather, “Why—are you here?”

That question caught him off-guard, “Huh?”, Akihito almost raised his voice, but then held it in to prevent any kind of emotional breakdown that could possibly happen, “It’s weird that you’re asking that, since you were the one who invited me.”

“Well, I technically invited you, yes, but—“, he coughed a little bit, “I don’t know that you’re coming now.”

“What?” by then, great confusion had finally succeeded on raising his volume, “What the heck is that supposed to mean? How could you not know? I called and immediately made a—“

“Who answered?” Asami cut in, his handsome eyebrows slightly arched up in a confused manner.

Akihito stopped talking for awhile, before finally replying with a way softer voice, “Kirishima – san, your secretary.”

Even though he was now lowering down his vision, Akihito could see that Asami was now widening both of his eyes, probably out of shock and more confusion along its way. The older man looked like he was thinking of something, but after awhile, he seemed to give up. He let out a sigh, before starting up once again, “To be honest, I have not been informed of you visiting here. I couldn’t be available from the evening until now, and I trusted Kirishima for handling any kind of incoming calls and probably—“, he looked back at the blond; “one of them was from you.”

Now, was the time for Akihito to become more confused, “What? So, are you saying that he kind of… set this whole up?”

“Unfortunately, I am thinking of the same possibility.” Asami mused aloud.

After that, silence ensued once again and swallowed them whole in its dark embrace. Akihito started to fidget in his seat, playing with his own fingers like it was the most fun thing you could do in your spare time. Meanwhile, Asami kept on observing him, wondering just what was going on inside the blond’s head.

Couldn’t really handle the awkwardness for longer than that, Akihito took his turn to start the conversation, “You said you couldn’t be available… why?”

Asami looked like he was contemplating something, “I—“, he hesitated, “I caught a flu, and Kirishima apparently sees that it was necessary for me to call it a day.” After that, the older man let out a sigh, as if admitting something like he just caught flu was something that was kind of embarrassing for him.

On the other hand, Akihito’s eyes widened, his jaw dropped onto the sheets (metaphorically of course) as the disbelief came washing over him. He was speechless for a minute, and when he finally could talk, he only responded with a “what the hell”.

At that, Asami looked back at him, one of his eyebrows arching up, “Hm? What’s wrong?”

The blond suddenly stood up, jerking the once-so-quiet bed that was once beneath him, “It’s just a fucking flu?!” he half-yelled, his temper was slowly rising into the clouds, “Oh my fuckin' God! That freakin' secretary sounded so desperate and worried! He was dramatizing everything…” he mumbled the last part as he paced back and forth, his eyebrows arching downwards in a manner of thinking/frustration building up. And when Asami looked like he couldn’t understand a single thing that he just spoke of, Akihito once again turned around to face him with both hands on his hips, saying, “When we were on the phone, Kirishima – san said—with an overly overdramatic voice; that jerk—that you have fallen ill,” he sighed, “And that made me immediately run here because I—“

At that, Akihito immediately realized just where he was going on, and he defiantly put one of his hands on top of his mouth to effectively shut himself up, or cutting whatever he was going to say before everything spilled out. He hoped—wished—that the flu had also caught on Asami’s brain and he wouldn’t catch everything because the sickness had turned him into some mindless idiot.

But he—indeed—had never heard Kou saying that flu could affect someone’s intelligence.

And that was why Akihito once again attempted to escape—anywhere but this room. He mumbled off an “excuse me” before hastily turning around once again and this time, striding straight on towards the door. His breath was immediately caught in his lungs when he felt a strong palm circling and locking around one of his hands, and it was against his power when his body could be easily pulled back onto the mattress by the same hand.

It only took a second for Akihito to be back on the bed with Asami hovering over him. Apparently, flu also didn’t affect his strength. _Goddammit_.

His heartbeat paced up once again when those golden eyes immediately glued themselves on his own eyes, paralyzing his movements effectively just like a predator would do to a helpless prey (which in this case, him. _Goddammit_ ).

With a cough, Asami started, “Tell me. What is it that you wanted to say?”

Being thrown that question, Akihito’s mind started to empty itself. His mouth stayed in a line as his hazel eyes kept their focus on those golden ones, not intending to back down at all. He racked his mind for an answer—anything that would sound convincing—but unluckily, found none. So, he stayed silent, just like a wise old man image that he just built inside his head to convince himself that staying silent was the best choice; at least for now.

“Let me guess,” the older man continued, putting one of his hands on his stubble as if he was thinking hard about it, “Were you intending to say something like, ‘because I heard you are sick, I came here rushing through the rain and storm just because I wanted to make sure that you are okay because I was dead-worried about you’?”

Those words somehow pressed the right button to flare his temper back to life. Akihito shot him a stubborn glare as he responded, “What the—fuck no!” He hastily propped himself up on one of his elbows before pointing a single finger on the man, as if accusing him on some bad crime he did, “Don’t get cocky you bastard! Why would I get worried because of someone like you? I’m out!” At that, he put his struggle back on, but Asami seemed to not want to buy any of it, because he kept on restraining the blond beneath him with a new put up strength. “What the hell?! Let me go!”

“Asami!” the blond called, sounding more desperate with seconds ticking by, “I said let me go!”

Both of them kept on struggling for their own desires; Akihito who wanted to go, and Asami who seemed to want him to stay. The blond kept on calling him names—bastard, jerk, pervert and so on—but Asami wisely turned deaf-eared towards all of them.

Finally, Akihito let out all his pent-up anger that was gradually building inside him steadily within seconds. With a new kind of glare he made, he yelled, “WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT, ASAMI?! WHY WON’T YOU LET ME GO?!”

“I want to apologize!”, he responded instantly, finally having his hands on the perfect angle to lock Akihito’s hands on top of his head, immobilizing him completely, “but foremost and for all, I want you to stay with me.”

At that, the blond ceased on pushing and kicking, and once again, he was speechless. Seeing that he wouldn’t respond anytime soon, Asami continued, “At first, I swear, I never had any intention to lie to you or betray you like you said. You—“, he paused, thinking for the right words to say, before opening his mouth once again to speak, “I was hopeless. I didn’t know where should I go, or where I originally belonged to. I didn’t have anybody or anywhere to go back home to. I was alone.”

“And on that rainy day, you found me. You, with those brilliant hazel eyes looked down on me, and silently told me that everything was going to be fine. To be honest, I had never thought more than that, and only thought of you as some shelter that I could use for in awhile.”

“You took care of me, fed me, and made a home to where I could go back to. Even though I was a stranger,” he coughed, “and that, saved me more than any doctors I have gone to.”

“Your kindness overwhelmed me, and it made me grew hungry with the need to monopolize it. I started to tease you, made you curious about whom I am and all that, all the while trying to find out whom you are as well.”

Akihito kept silent as he talked, hazel eyes never leaving his eyes, probably searching for any hint of lies, but detected none. Asami continued, “This might sound a little bit selfish on my part, but I did go into your dark studio—“, when the blond glared at him once again, he strengthened the hold he had on both of his hands to calm him down, “and that was where I found out just who you are.”

“Takaba Akihito, 23 years old, a crime photojournalist. And apparently you were also chasing after me, it was kind of ironic, you know?”, another cough, “I realized by then that sooner or later you would find out who am I, whether it would be through your line of work or just because of your plain curiosity. And honestly, I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want you to know just how dark I am as a human.”

“And that is why I went away. I wanted to cut my connections with you in order for you to not find out, and also—“, he inched a little bit closer towards the man beneath him, “to protect you from any possible attack my enemies could muster up if they know that I have been with you.”

Akihito let all the words sink in before going back to stare at the man above him, his hazel eyes still silently asking for more answers. And that, Asami could provide, “What is going on beyond my expectations was that Yamamoto targeting you. I admit, my calculations had missed on some part regarding that maniac. He captured you and intended to squeeze the information regarding me from you. And you probably knew just who I am from that moment, right?” at that, Asami caressed the younger man’s cheek with one palm, “I only heard stories from one of my subordinates that I sent there, but I was told that you didn’t tell them anything about me.”

“It’s just because of shock, alright!” the blond huffed, his cheeks started heating up, “Don’t think anything about it, you heard me?!”

Apparently, Akihito didn’t get the kind of response he wanted. As Asami just chuckled lowly from above him, the blond only pouted before throwing his head to one side, the color pink softly dusting above the surface of his cheekbones.

“And even after all this time I tried to hide the truth from you,” Asami let out a sigh, “You still found out about me, and I truly understand why you were mad, so I decided it was best for me to let you go.”

Akihito looked back at him, his hazel eyes shining in the dimmed room as the older man continued, “But in the end, I couldn’t help but search for you, find out just how you are doing without me. I couldn’t shake off the need to reach out for you, to approach you; this overwhelms me.”

“I was so desperate that I finally decided to contact the newspaper company you work for and conducted an interview with you as an interviewer—and here we are.”

Once again, Asami locked eyes with the blond, and with a softer voice, he spoke, “I swear it is not in my intention to hurt you. I have never had this motive of using you to cover my identities or whatever you accused me of. All my doings, my plans, and everything I have done to you until now is purely because—“, he coughed a little more, but Akihito was sure as hell that Asami was faking it, for what reason, he didn’t know. “I want to get to you once again; to hold you, once again.”

By then, their lips were already an inch apart, and Akihito wasn’t sure if it was because of the great gravity force or it was just Asami inching even closer to him that their lips were finally connecting.

Akihito automatically closed both of his eyes as the sensation on his lips spread all over his body, sending pleasurable tingles up and down his spine that he couldn’t help but moan over. Asami kissed him slowly, yet surely. He didn’t seem to want to rush things over. At first, it was just lips gluing onto another pair of lips, but within seconds, the older man finally felt the need to pace things into a more advanced level and therefore, started grazing the blond’s bottom lip with his tongue.

Sensual tension made him tremble under the black-haired’s touch, but he still found himself restraining himself from going overboard, reminding himself over and over again that even though the man in front of him had showed him affection, he was still the same man that had killed and robbed, the same man that he had wanted to capture in his viewfinder, his number one target. Realizing this, Asami decided to tease the blond even more, playfully licking and nipping at the stubborn lips that didn’t seem to want to surrender to his lip-playing game.

Akihito shut his eyes tight it was almost painful, but he kept telling himself to not give in and held still. Seeing such stubbornness coming from him, Asami slowly let his fingers travelled towards the younger one’s ear and softly caressed his earlobe, earning a pleasurable and beautiful moan that came out from those tempting cupid-bow’s lips. He used the opportunity to drive his tongue into that sweet cavern, tasting the flavor in which he had missed for this past year.

The skillful tongue that was currently playing with the inside of his mouth had effectively pushed all the right buttons in him to submit, and submitted he did. The blond immediately melted at the kiss that he had silently yearned for a year of its owner’s absence. He subconsciously brought his hands up onto the back of the man’s neck and started crawling towards the nape of his neck, slowly messaging the base of his hair as he enjoyed the kiss that Asami was currently providing him. The kiss grew wild within seconds, and it was against Akihito’s sane mind when his own tongue had also started departing towards Asami’s, clumsily trying to please the older man as well.

For a minute they stayed there, but a sudden reminder suddenly brought Akihito to reality. He broke the kiss in an instant, and through his hazy state of mind, spoke, “What if I catch your flu?”

Asami was surprised at first, but then let out a rich chuckle before diving in once again for those wet lips. Akihito half-yelled, “Hey, I am serious!”

“I will just catch it right back from you.” Asami answered; his baritone voice deep and reassuring.

Before Akihito could mutter a protest, he was already muted once again by those lips that seemed to swallow everything that he just had to say.

After that, Asami did what he thought he was supposed to do, and Akihito begrudgingly submitted to every kind of ministrations he did to him, soft and hard, everything. It was against his own ego when he finally felt that he was already in peace, like everything he had ever wanted in this world was already here, embracing him with his callous fingers and firm kisses. Asami showered him with unspoken affections and Akihito felt like he could cry out of joy because of it.

And suddenly, he grew to not care about who they were anymore. He didn’t care about Asami being a crime lord, he didn’t care about himself being a crime photojournalist, he didn’t care about the fact that they naturally and originally weren’t born on the same side. All he cared about was the fact that they had finally got back together, here, embracing each other, both physically and emotionally.

For the first time in his life, he wanted to prioritize the relationship he had with this man.

With this giant, stray cat of his.

His kitty darling.

\-  e n d  -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we have reached the end of the story! //cheers!// I feel so happy that even though I need a long time, I can finish this story:) I thank you, all the readers who have supported me throughout the ups and downs in this story, and also the new readers. I hope you guys would like the world I make for this series:)  
> I'm sorry I cannot reply to your comments more often like in the past:( it's just that slow internet connection has finally invaded my router and I cannot seem to find the right time to sit calmly in reply to all the comments...  
> There is a possible omake in the future, but I don't know for certain if I would post it or not, lol  
> And now, I would get back to my other story... after months of abandoning it, lmao  
> I do not own the Finder series.


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